My Hero Lover
by Yugioh13
Summary: From strangers to friends, Machiko and Izuku's lives changed for the better when they met that day on the beach. Friendship can last even through the toughest battles and can overcome the greatest challenges. However, when the future has arrived, how long can that friendship last? Especially when the word 'love' is being tossed around between friends. Izuku/Machi (OC)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! So**** to start things out, yes, I have joined the My Hero Academia fandom and I have to say...I do NOT regret a thing! lol this series is sooo awesome! So, this is my first My Hero story and I hope you'll enjoy this! :) I couldn't help but try to think of a fanfic I could write for this amazing fandom and I'm very happy to finally post a story! This was going to originally be a few chapters at first, maybe like 3-4 of them. But who knows? It could be longer! **

**This story was based on the song Lover by Taylor Swift. If you haven't listened to the song yet, then I highly recommend it! It's such a cute song and every time I heard it, it reminded me of Izuku and someone else. So I think it's the perfect choice! Unfortunately, due to the FF rules on here, I can't post the lyrics in this like I planned. However, on Archive of Our Own, I'll post them in there. But basically, the lyrics are going to go along with the story a little bit. **

**Don't forget to leave a review! I love hearing what you guys have to say and if you have any advice, I'd appreciate hearing it! I hope you guys enjoy this story! Thanks guys!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own My Hero Academia. I only on my OC, Machiko/Machi. Nor do I own Taylor Swift's amazing song! **

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Panting heavily, Machiko Imara, Machi for short, rushed through the city of Musutafu, her chest heaving up and down while her legs pumped heavily, never slowing down. Raindrops rolled down the skin of her arms and soaked the long dark blue strands of hair that blew in the breeze. However, the strange thing about this so called rain, was that it wasn't raining anywhere else in the city. It only rained on the poor girl, who also had her own tears rolling down her cheeks.

Without really looking, she crashed into a random passing by gentleman, who was on his way to work, accidentally knocking his briefcase to the ground.

"Hey! Watch it Kid!" he boomed angrily, brushing off his expensive suit with one hand while shaking the other clenched fist.

In a normal situation, Machi would have stopped and apologized profusely as it had been used to doing so on various occasions, but right now...all she wanted was to escape the roaring city. And with the way her body was in such emotional turmoil, she needed to be somewhere calm before it exploded.

She took another sharp turn around the next street corner, gasping as she nearly ran into a girl on a bicycle. The brakes hit suddenly, causing them to squeal along with a shriek from the girl.

"Hey! Idiot! Watch where you're going!"

Still, nothing stopped poor Machi as she bolted past the girl and a sight appeared in the distance, like a beacon in the night. Except it was still the middle of the afternoon.

The sound of thunder rumbled through her head, making her stomach plummet and her emotions flair up.

"Almost...there..." she panted, heart racing faster than a cheetah, the raindrops soaking her hair by now.

The second her feet touched the wooden dock, she stopped running and collapsed against the wooden railing. As she tried to catch her breath, Machi lifted her head to stare out over the vast deep blue ocean that ventured out to the horizon. Takoba Municipal Beach Park.

Wiping away the raindrops that rolled down her cheeks, Machi could feel the heaviness in her chest beginning to lift. The small cloud above her head began clearing as well and the rain less heavy.

Her fingers gripped the wooden railing for a moment, her breathing slowing down until her heart finally calmed. "Made it..." She sighed in relief before taking a deep breath, the scent of the salty air filling her sore lungs. Eventually, the cloud was completely gone and now she was standing there, completely drenched as if she had taken a dip in the ocean.

To Machi, this was the place where she could relax. The place where she could lose herself and all of the emotional turmoil in her body dissipated. It was always the place that she had visited as a child with her parents. But now, being almost fourteen, she was still coming here, even if it was by herself. The sad part about this place was that garbage covered the sandy beach, making the place seem abandoned and forgotten. What a shame.

Her fingers finally released the railing and her feet carried her to the end of the dock. The bright sun above dried her now completely drenched clothes and hair as if it knew her troubles. Then Machi carefully sat down on the edge of the dock, her feet dangling over the ocean below. The sounds of the water crashing against the sand made her nerves relax slowly. To anyone, this would be a peaceful sight to see.

After a few moments of peace, her hand reached into her pocket, pulling out a crumpled up brochure with the bright colors of red, blue and silver staring back at at the girl as she unfolded it. The letters UA stared back, making Machi's heart sink.

Then voices of her parents echoed through her head, replaying what had been said in the last few hours.

'But Honey, UA is one of the greatest schools in the world! You'll surely do great in this school.' he told her in the kitchen that morning as he handed her the brochure. He looked so excited to show it off like it was the best thing ever. 'You've got excellent grades and who knows, with a Quirk like yours, I'm sure you'll get some attention from the big names!'

She could still see her mother coming to her side, throwing an arm around her shoulders. 'Your father's right, Machi. The greatest heroes attended this school! They can help you control your Quirk!'

Machi bit her lower lip at the words her mother spoke. Control her Quirk...

Her parents beamed as they began thinking out loud about how she would be as the next greatest hero. Comparing her to heroes like Best Jeanist, Endeavor, and of course All Might. But then again, didn't most proud parents compare their Quirk gifted children to the best of the best?

However, that sort of compliment made her sick to her stomach.

She tried to maintain her emotions before she lost control again. Squeezing the brochure tightly, she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths that barely helped as she felt the tears in her eyes begin to fill again and the dark cloud began to appear from above.

How could she do this? How could she ever attend such a prestigious school and find a way to control her Quirk. Right now, she could barely even control herself! Every single time she was sad, angry, embarrassed, or even overly excited her Quirk would flair up and nearly destroy or ruin any moment she had at making friends or even meeting people.

Her eyes opened once again to stare at the paper before crumpling it back up into a tight ball and throwing it off the dock as hard as she could.

"Ow! Hey! What the heck was that?" someone gasped with a strangled squeak.

Realizing what she had done, Machi quickly leaned forward over the middle part of the railing to look down at whatever was below. A messy green mop head of hair stood out among the sandy beach. The head lifted and Machi found herself staring into a rather large pair of eyes.

Her heart clenched and her cheeks flushed with heat with embarrassment. "Oh...I...I'm sorry!" she yelled down to them.

"What?" the individual yelled back, their hand cupping their ear.

"I said I'm sorry I hit you!"

"Uhh...hang on!" Suddenly the individual began running towards the shore and up to the grassy area.

"Oh no..." she mumbled to herself, fear running through her veins as she got to her feet in a panic. "Crap...crap...crap! This isn't good! Why do I always have to be such a pest? Maybe I can get away before..." She trailed off as she turned to see the figure from the beach running towards her. "So much for a quick getaway..."

It was a young man with dark green hair, which stuck out all over and was dripping wet. "S-sorry." he panted, his hands resting on his knees as he bent over to catch his breath. "I...I couldn't hear you down there."

Machi opened and closed her mouth a few times as she stood there, wringing her hands. "Oh no...it's okay. I was just apologizing for throwing that paper at you." she apologized, her eyes shifting to the ground for a moment before meeting his gaze again. "Did...did I hurt you?"

The boy stood up straight, his big eyes blinking a few times before a blush crept onto his cheeks. "Oh! No no! You just surprised me that's all." he responded quickly before holding open his hand, which held the crumpled brochure. "Here's your stuff back."

Her heart sunk when it was retrieved. "Oh...thanks." Truthfully, she was trying to get rid of it, but how could she be rude to the poor guy when she had hit him and he had brought it back instead of walking away?

The boy tilted his head to the side before glancing between her and the brochure. "Oh...wow! This is from UA!" he exclaimed in awe.

"Yeah..." she mumbled, running a hand through her drying hair.

He pulled it apart to stare down at the colorful piece of paper and a small smile appeared on his lips. "I...I don't mean to bother you at all, but uh...are you...trying to get into UA?"

There was a hesitance for a moment or two as Machi tried to find the words to say to the boy. Did she really want to tell this stranger no and that she was rejecting the idea of herself being admitted into UA? She did at first, but the look on his face read excitement. Was he one of the many fans of the infamous school? Probably so. So why was would she be the one to crush his spirits and tell him that? She may be a clumsy and a little distant, but she wasn't cruel.

When she didn't answer, a look of panic crossed his face. "Oh! You don't have to answer that! I was just...um curious." he mumbled embarrassingly, waving his hands frantically in front of his chest, the pamphlet moving around like a flag being waved.

The boy wore a pair of shorts and a very drenched dark tank top. It looked like the poor guy was sweating to death. However, it wasn't that hot out here.

Machi ran a hand through her dark blue locks. She really needed to cut her hair since it hung around her face like a weeping willow. "I-it's okay. I just...well...it's a little complicated."

"Oh! Say no more." he interrupted nervously, handing the paper back to her. "I-I'll just leave you alone to uh...whatever you're doing. Uh forgive me for interrupting whatever you were uh...yeah."

Before she could get another word out, the boy rushed off the dock rather quickly. But when he reached the end to climb back down to the beach, he tripped and tumbled down the hill, screaming wildly as he rolled.

Springing into action, Machi cried out in shock before chasing after the boy. He had rolled down the grassy hill with hidden rocks throughout the field and was now laying at the bottom, face down in the sand.

"Oh my gosh! Are you alright?!" Machi exclaimed when she reached the boy and tried to roll him over onto his back. His eyes were wide and mouth hung open as if he was in a delirious daze. Examining his face, she noticed that he had several freckles covering his cheeks. If the situation wasn't so dire at the moment, she would have smiled at the sight. She had always liked people with freckles.

Her hands went to his face, gently caressing his cheeks. "Hey! Can you hear me?"

The boy never answered, only a low moan escaping his mouth. Drool trickled down his lips while he stared up at the sky.

She shook him gently as she checked his pulse. No, he wasn't dead, but maybe knocked out. "Can you hear me?" she repeated again, shaking him. 'Come on, don't die on me here.'

After a few moments, his eyelids closed for a moment before she caught a glimpse of his dark green eyes that matched his hair. "Mm...wh-what happened?" he mumbled softly as his eyes closed again.

"You tripped and fell down the hill." she informed before smoothing his hair back. "Are you okay?"

His head lolled to the side a little. "I...I think...so."

At least he was conscious.

"Okay...can you tell me your name?"

He blinked slowly a few times, his eyes meeting hers. Machi's heart skipped a beat as she stared down into a pair of amber colored irises. "I-Izuku..."

"Izuku." she tried, a weak smile appearing on her lips.

The boy, Izuku, gave her a lopsided grin. Even if the situation wasn't overly happy, she couldn't help but let her smile widen. What a cute smile he had.

Then she cleared her throat. "Okay, Izuku, can you tell me what day it is?"

His eyebrows drew together while his nose crinkled up. "W-Wednesday?"

She nodded in confirmation. So far so good.

"Good, now can you tell me where it hurts?"

His eyes shifted down to the rest of his body. "Uh...everything does...but I don't see any blood. I think I should be okay."

When she was about to say something else, suddenly a small amount of blood began to trickle down his face. Then some appeared on his arms. And more on his chest where a rock had cut his shirt slightly.

Machi's eyes widened in shock. "Y-you're bleeding Izuku!"

His eyes widened in shock for a moment before his eyelids began lowering. "Oh...great..." he sighed before passing out again, making Machi panic as she shook him frantically, trying to wake the poor boy again.

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**Well that's that end for chapter one! I hope you guys enjoyed it! This was a tricky one, but I'm sure it turned out great! I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of this short story! I'm so happy that I finally got to share this with all of you! There will be more soon I assure you! Plus with season 4 coming out soon, this is the perfect time to post this! **

**Thank you everyone for reading! I hope to post the next chapter soon! Don't forget to leave a review before you go! I hope next season will be just as good as the last one! Plus Ultra! ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! Chapter two has arrived! I was absolutely thrilled to see that you guys liked what I've written so far! Seriously, I opened my mailbox and suddenly I had so many followers for this story! That made my entire day! You guys are the best! ^_^ I hope you all enjoy what is to come for this story! Also with season four just days away, I'm getting even more excited for this amazing fandom! I had to post the next chapter before the 4th season came out!**

**Don't forget to leave a review when you're done. I would really like to see what you think about this story. Also if you have any comments or questions for me, I am more than happy to answer you!**

**By the way, with season 4 coming soon, I thought it would be cool to post a little question for you guys to answer...which character are you most excited to see in the new season? There are a lot to choose from! My personal choice would be between Mirio and Hawks! Loved them in the manga and I can't wait to see them in action! So go ahead and share your excitement! **

**Thank you again! Don't forget...PLUS ULTRA! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own My Hero Academia. I only on my OC, Machiko/Machi. Nor do I own Taylor Swift's amazing song!**

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"Thanks again for helping me out." Izuku sighed in relief as he pressed an ice pack against his head. "I'm sorry about all of this. Didn't mean to ruin your day at all."

"It's no problem at all. I'm glad to see that you're okay." she replied with a gentle smile. "That was a nasty fall you had back there."

When she was able to wake Izuku up, Machi quickly went into action, helping him dress his wounds just like her mother had taught her. She managed to run to the nearest store, which was located conveniently near the beach, and bought what she needed to help. Having a medical Hero in the family did have its perks! Thankfully, he only had a few cuts and bruises. Nothing too serious.

By now, the two of them were sitting side by side on the beach. The sun was just beginning to set and things seemed awfully calm. Especially since her emotions seemed to run wild about an hour ago. It was a strange afternoon indeed.

Izuku smiled as well, showing off a big pearly grin. "Thanks to you, I'm sure my cuts will heal faster."

She giggled as her fingers drew pictures in the sand below her bare feet. "I'm not that much of a miracle maker. But then again, my mom is one heck of a medical hero."

His eyebrows perked up at that. "Oh really? That's awesome! Is she anything like Recovery Girl?"

"Oh no, she's not _**that**_ good. But she's an excellent medic. She's able to detect where the injury is with just a single glance. She can do that with pain as well. Helped countless lives with her Quirk." Machi explained, watching the boy's smile widen. "Didn't really help me as a kid whenever I tried to fake being sick. Let's just say, I could never fake an illness in school around her."

He smiled as his fingers curled around the ice pack as he moved it to the back of his head, wincing slightly.

"Does it hurt?" she asked worriedly, trying to look at his head through the thick dark green locks.

"A little, but I'm sure it'll go away soon. I've had some pretty nasty injuries in the past, so it's not much of a big deal." he responded with a simple shrug. "Just need to make sure that I can still train."

"Oh? Is that what you were doing?" she asked, glancing around at the various pieces of trash that scattered the beach. It was a tragic sight to see, especially since she used to come here a lot with her parents as a child. Now it looked like someone's personal dump. "Well...I mean no offense at all, but it's not really the greatest place to train for...well whatever you're up to."

The boy smiled, shaking his head. "Oh it's not that bad. I manage pretty well out here. Even clean up the beach while I'm training."

Her brows rose in surprise. "You're cleaning up the beach?"

He nodded once before glancing over at an old broken down refrigerator that had been left a long time ago. There were some straps attached to the massive machine for someone to pull on it. The straps trailed across the beach along with several footprints that had been left behind by someone.

'Did he move that all by himself?' Machi thought to herself when she saw the long line of trail marks in the sand, showing that the fridge had been moved quite a long distance.

"Did you just start on this?"

"Oh no, I've been working on this for a few months now."

"A few months?!" she exclaimed in shock, making the boy laugh.

"Yeah, and trust me, it's been a tough job. But..." he trailed off as his eyes shifted to the sea as his free hand clenched in front of him. "I can feel myself growing stronger each day."

There was a small pause before Machi spoke up. "Umm...if you don't mind me asking...what exactly are you training for?"

He turned his head towards hers, taking the ice bag off for a moment. "Well...um..." he stuttered, making Machi shake her own head.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't pry. I should just shut up." Her cheeks felt hot for a moment before her entire body began to warm up uncomfortably, making Machi begin to panic. "Oh no...no no no..."

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Her entire body felt like a heatwave had just ripped through her. Well...in this case, it's exactly what was happening. It was happening again.

"N-nothing." she responded quickly before his hand found hers.

"Wow...your hand...it's so warm. Like fire." he marveled before their eyes met. "And your face! It's so red!"

Machi jerked her head away, trying to look at something else. Even the fridge would do at this point. "I...I'm sorry. It's...it's my Quirk."

"Your Quirk?"

Panic filled her eyes as she tried to take a few deep breaths, her hands running through her hair. "Y-yeah..."

He dropped the ice pack and his cold hand touched her arm, making the blunette jump. "S-sorry."

The heat in her body began to calm and her body temperature returning to normal. "It's fine." she mumbled softly, running hand over her face. "It's my personal nightmare that I can't really turn off. You see, I have a weather Quirk."

"A weather Quirk?"

Her head bopped up and down. "Whatever I feel...I can produce various types of weather from my body. Not really sure how it works...nor can I really control it completely." She frowned at the thoughts of her classmates when they first saw her Quirk emerge when they were in primary school. How quickly that excitement turned to fear and abandonment. "Rain, lightning, thunder, heat, and sometimes...rarely...even snow."

"Wow...that sounds amazing." he marveled, eyes filled with amazement and wonder.

It was...kind of cute to see.

A weak smile appeared just for a moment. "Yeah...but at the same time, there is a downside to this Quirk. The weather is connected to my emotions. If I'm sad, then I practically have this cloud appear above my head and it begins raining. Not sure if its my sweat or the water in my body." Then she lifted her hand, her fingers spread out wide. "If I'm angry, lightening begins to form at my fingertips. Could be the electric charge I get from static electricity I gather throughout the day."

The boy continued to watch her in awe as she continued.

"When I get embarrassed, my body becomes hotter than the sun." A dry chuckle escaped her lips. "Possibly hormones or something..." Machi reached up to wrap a dark strand of blue hair around her finger.

"Hmmm...it's possible that your quirk is lined up with your emotions. But then again, maybe it's hormones. Maybe it developed in puberty. Perhaps even what the human body experiences. I wonder if Quirks can line up with the human body. Emotions, chemical imbalances, or even stages of puberty. Yeah, I can see it. That would be really interesting if it lines up with that. But then again, perhaps we won't know." the boy murmured quickly, making Machi turn towards him.

Her eyes widened to see him hunched over and writing furiously in a notebook, which she had no idea where it had come from. Was he...taking notes? He continued to ramble, his hand moving wildly across the pages of the notebook that looked like it had been burned.

"Um...what are you..." she began before his head jerked up and the notebook shut loudly.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I just...I was taking some Quirk notes."

"Quirk notes?"

A small pink tint glowed on his cheeks. "I uh...I take notes on people's Quirks. I find the whole science and mystery behind them fascinating. Plus, it's a good way to learn about how they work and then you can figure out what tactics you can use when fighting." he explained, holding up the book to show her.

Taking the notebook from him, she began flipping through the pages. Each page showed a different Quirk, along with footnotes on strengths, weaknesses, and even a few suggestions on how that individual would fight.

"Wow...this is...unbelievable." she whispered as she read about a person who had an explosion Quirk. "You take all these notes yourself?"

The green haired boy rubbed the back of his head. "Oh...heh, yeah I do. Some would say it's weird or annoying."

She blinked a few times. "Weird? I don't think so. If anything, I would think that you were an excellent observer and a critical thinker. I mean, who would think out strategies to defeat someone, trying to figure out their weakness. Honestly, I wouldn't think of that."

"Wow...really? You think so?"

Machi smiled back at the Izuku, handing the notebook back over. "Yeah, I really do."

He matched her smile before his eyes widened. "Oh! Here I am, rambling about my notes and passing out on you and you don't really know my name at all. Well...maybe you do since I mumbled it." Then he held out a hand to her. "My name is Izuku Midorya."

Her eyes went to his hand before meeting his gaze. "Uh...I'm Machiko Imara. But some people call me Machi for short."

Their hands came together in a handshake.

"Machi." he tried, making her smile widen. "It's nice to meet you."

"The same to you, Izuku."

They paused for a moment, smiling at one another before Izuku spoke up, pulling his hand away.

"Uh...thanks again for...the compliment and for...helping me out." he told her with a sheepish grin on his lips.

The grin made her giggle softly. "It's no trouble at all. I just...did what my mom told me to do in these situations." Her lips pursed for a moment, her legs drawing up so she could rest her arms on her knees, toes digging into the sand below.

"Soooo...if you don't mind me asking..." Izuku began again, his voice trailing off. "Are you applying to UA?"

Her lower lip sucked between her teeth, biting down on it rather hard.

Izuku frowned, his head lowering in embarrassment. "You don't have to answer that, I just...noticed that it was crumpled up."

Machi wasn't sure if she wanted to unload all of her emotional drama, stress, and of course her personal issues...but...who else could she talk to? Her parents were telling her that it was just nerves and they were trying to be supportive. Her grandparents lived about three hours away and had troubles with their phone. As for school friends...well...she wasn't really close with any of them.

Izuku here...well he was just some random kid who happened to be there when she was having a meltdown. He seemed to be nice and maybe he would understand her struggles. Why not?

She ran a hand through her hair, tugging on the strands gently. "Well...not really. At least, I didn't. My parents kind of filled out the application for me." She paused before staring out at the ocean. "My parents are convinced that I was meant to attend this prestigious school. That I could one day be like all the other top heroes in the world." Her shoulders sagged. "My opinion, on the other hand, isn't as confident."

"Why do you say that?" Izuku questioned, sitting the ice bag on the sand.

Her lungs filled with air before releasing them with a heavy sigh. "Because why would anyone want to teach an emotional mess like myself?"

There was silence between them.

"When I discovered my Quirk, I accidentally caused a rainstorm in my classroom. I was upset about someone taking the last juice box at lunch and well...a cloud appeared in the room and suddenly it was raining. My classmates were shocked and my teacher was thrilled for me." A weak smile graced her lips. "For awhile, I was excited to know that I was born with a Quirk."

As she spoke, Machi missed the quick flash of disappointment in Izuku's eyes.

"At first, I just thought that I had this storm Quirk. But...about a year or two later...I got angry and accidentally shocked my teacher when she yelled at me for being tardy. I didn't mean to do it. It...just happened." she mumbled, remembering the look on everyone's face and the fear that shone in their eyes. "After that...my control on my Quirk just seemed...disappear."

Her toes buried deeper into the cool sand.

"Now of days, I just try to avoid speaking to anyone. I try not to let myself feel anything...but most days...it's impossible."

A hand touched her shoulder, making Machi lift her head.

Izuku was staring at her as if he could see into her soul. "You're only human. You're allowed to feel things and even if you lose control, it's okay."

"Easy for you to say..." she grumbled, folding her arms together so she could rest her forehead on them. "Who would want someone like me to save them? I'd probably injure them or scare them instead of saving their life."

His hand remained on her shoulder. "You know...if you wanted to...I could help you out."

That made Machi lift her head. "Huh?"

"Y-yeah, I could help you learn about your Quirk. Maybe even help control it eventually."

She stared at the green haired boy in confusion, her eyebrows drawing together. "Uh...I appreciate the thought Izuku, really I do. I just don't think that it won't do any good."

He blinked a few times before removing his hand.

"Besides, the exams are a few months away and I highly doubt I'll be able to pull myself together in that amount of time." she sighed mournfully. "There's more schools out there to get into."

"No." Izuku spoke, shaking his head as he stood to his feet. "I believe that you can do this. You just need someone to help you get through this." When she opened her mouth to retort, Izuku cut her off. "Look...I may not be the best person to assist you, but I don't want to see someone give up on being a hero just because she's not confident in her control."

Her eyes widened slightly at his speech.

"I know we barely know one another, but I think you have the potential to be a hero. And yeah, you said that your parents say that...and yeah it might sound like some broken record being repeated...but look." he said, gesturing to the bandages that covered his cuts and bruises. "You just helped out a complete stranger and knew what to do. Quirk or not, you seem like a pretty great hero."

She blinked once as tears began pricking at her eyes.

Izuku then blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his sore head, wincing slightly. "S-sorry for that. I just..."

Suddenly before either of them knew it, Machi had risen to her feet and pulled the strange boy in for a tight hug. As they stood there on the beach, Machi could feel tears running down her cheeks as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"Thank you, Izuku."

She felt him tense up slightly before she pulled away, his face completely red. "Uhhhhh no problem." he squeaked out.

There was a long pause, allowing Machi to dry her tears and Izuku to calm himself down from the hug that had just happened. Then his eyes glanced up above her head. "Hey, look."

When she did, Machi just saw the orange and pink sky. It was rather beautiful to see.

"Not a cloud in sight." Izuku announced with a wide smile.

Machi's eyes widened in shock when realization hit her. He was right, usually a cloud would be forming and it would've started raining within seconds.

"You see? You can control it. Maybe with some more practice, you can really learn how to use it." Izuku told her with a grin.

"Y-yeah...maybe..."

"So that's settled then, we can try to do a little training on the side. We can meet up later in the day and we could spend an hour or two on your Quirk."

Machi rubbed the back of her head. "Oh no, I-I couldn't take up your training time. I mean, you seem awfully busy right now."

"It's fine. I'm sure I could spare an hour or two. It would give me a small break from time to time."

It took a moment or two for her to think about the possibility, but then she nodded her head. "Okay, we'll give it a shot. I doubt we'll get very far with this, but I'm willing to give it a shot. And who knows, maybe in some weird turn of events, I'll end up at UA." As she pushed her hair behind her ears, she looked at Izuku, who was rubbing his sore shoulder.

Who knows what would happen? It's not like she had much to lose at this point. Except for Izuku's respect. But maybe he was different from everyone else.

"By the way, is that what you're doing all of this training for? Because you're trying to get into UA as well?"

Izuku blinked like a deer in headlights. "Oh! Yeah, I actually am..." he bumbled, his eyes shifting to the pile of garbage that still remained on the beach.

Machi was surprised, but remembered that only the best of the best got into UA. "Have you got some sort of strength Quirk or something? I mean, with all of this moving and stuff...that would be my only guess."

A red tint came onto his cheeks as he began stuttering again. "Well...I guess...it's um..."

"Hey! Midoriya! You're here already. I was wondering if you would...oh..." another voice spoke, making Machi turn around.

Before her stood a rather scraggly looking man who was skinnier than anyone she had ever seen. He looked like a living skeleton! Blonde hair stuck out all over his head and his piercing blue eyes looked sunken in as well as his cheeks.

"Oh hey All...I mean...uh...sorry about this. I was just talking to my friend here and we kind of got caught up."

Machi's heart skipped a beat as she looked at Izuku, who was smiling at her. _'Friend?'_ she thought to herself, her heart feeling slightly lighter at the thought of making a new friend. _'Did he really just call me that?'_

"What happened to yourself there, Kid?"

Izuku gently touched his bandaged arms. "Oh uh...I kind of fell earlier. But Machi here, she fixed me all up."

The blunette couldn't help but smile at his words.

"Oh...well...that's good to hear that someone was here to help. Uh...do you mind if we get started on today's training? I've got something going on later on today and I wanted to make sure we get some work done." the older stranger requested, his long and lanky arms hanging at his sides. "Sorry about this, Miss."

Machi waved her hand in front of her. "Oh it's not a problem at all. I was just about to head home."

The man nodded before turning around and slowly walking away. "Just come back when you're finished, Kid."

The two teens looked at one another, trying to get their conversation on track again while the strange man walked away.

"Um...yeah, sorry, he's just my uh...mentor." Izuku laughed softly, rubbing the back of his head. "Kind of like my personal Quirk trainer."

"I see. He seems...nice." she tried to say, unable to get a good impression of who this man was.

"He's tough, but I'm willing to learn."

She smiled, her hands rubbing together. "Hope you're not that tough if you end up helping me."

"Oh no no no! I would never be**_ that_ **tough! I mean...uh..."

She burst out laughing at his nervousness. "It's fine, Izuku. I'm sure things will be okay. But seriously, you don't have to help me out at all. You're busy with your own training."

Izuku held out the notebook, pointing to her. "True, but I'll try my best to help you achieve your goal as well."

Machi couldn't help but feel touched by Izuku's declaration.

"Well...I'd better get back to All...my mentor!" he quickly spoke before pulling out a cellphone, holding it out to her. "Here! You can put your number in here and you can text me whenever you want to meet up."

They quickly exchanged numbers before they heard Izuku's mentor yelling for him to come and train.

Machi grabbed her phone back from the dark green haired boy before brushing her hair back. "Well I'll let you get back to your training."

"Yeah..." Then his his eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "Oh! About earlier, I-I'm sorry for assuming that we're friends back there."

She couldn't help the massive grin that appeared on her face, her face practically beaming. "It's okay. I'll be your friend...if you want."

Izuku blushed before giving her a thumbs up. "Yeah! Of course! From now on, let's both try and achieve our dreams!"

She giggled at his enthusiasm as he rushed off to his mentor. As she stood there, watching Izuku slide the straps over his arms to pull the fridge again, she couldn't help but feel excited about the future. For the first time in her life, Machi actually felt...hopeful.

* * *

**And that's the end of this chapter! :) Honestly this chapter was going to be along with the intro, but I got too excited to post it and decided to split them up! I really enjoyed writing this chapter! Izuku is so adorable in the series and I think his note taking habit is funny. He's a smart and bright hero! Of course he'll be there to make Machi better! There will be more to come for them and I can't wait to explore that! **

**Thank you again for this you guys! You're the best! I'll try to have chapter 3 out soon! I'm still working on it and trying to figure things out. But it'll be worth it! Don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you think! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 is here! I'm beyond happy to see the response from the last two chapters! Favorites, follows, and reviews! You guys made my entire week! Seriously! This was the perk up I really needed! And season 4 is underway! Finally! And that first episode, it was much better than expected and I thought it was sooo funny and sweet! (can we just say, the photo montage with Bakugo attacking the camera...best moment even if there were no words haha)**

**Soooo this chapter is going to be rather long! lol I suddenly got the inspiration and was able to get out of my writer's block rut! Dude it was so awesome! I hope you guys enjoy this latest chapter! Also note, this will be slight cannon but at the same time...I maaaaaaay have messed around and changed things. If you're a true fan, you'll see it lol I just had to do it! Also, by the time I finished writing this, I realized that I was over 9,000 words and had to split this chapter up! So for now...over 6,000 lol But I'll try to have chapter four up soon as well. I hope you all enjoy chapter 3! **

**I've got another question to pitch to you guys out there! Who is your favorite character and why? I'm not sure why, but I'm really in the mood to discuss this! My friends and I have been debating on who is the best character and it always gets very heated between all of us haha So don't be afraid to share your love and excitement for your favorite hero/villain. I love discussing characters!**

**EDIT NOTE 10/18/19: I decided to change the beach scene a little because the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to change it a little. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own My Hero Academia. I only on my OC, Machiko/Machi. **

* * *

Machi stood inside of the gates of the testing center, bundled up in an awfully warm coat. Her hands wrung together as she paced back and forth while other students passed her by.

Today was the day. The day that mattered.

Her eyes glancing around back and forth for a familiar green haired teen to show up. She hadn't seen her new friend, Izuku in almost two days. He had texted her last night to tell her that he was going to train at the beach for a bit. Izuku had also wished her luck and to not worry about anything.

Machi took several deep breaths to keep her emotions under control just like he had told her.

For the last few months, they met once a day for about an hour or two to train. They worked on her emotional control by working on some calming exercises such as breathing or doing some stretches. It was a few small tactics, but it did help for awhile. Then he worked with her on practicing each emotion by having Machi think of something that would make her angry or sad. Then when he was able to see the lightning or rain, he took notes on how much was created.

Her thoughts drifted back to a few months ago when Izuku had wanted to do an early morning training session.

**~ Flashback ~**

_Machi stared out at the ocean stretching her arms above her head as she inhaled and exhaled slowly. "Breathe in...and breathe out..." she murmured as she felt her lungs expand and then deflate. _

_"Ah...are you...okay?" Izuku grunted as he carried a few old tires, one stacked on the other, as he moved towards the trash pile he created last month._

_"Y-yeah..." she grunted as she felt her muscles tensing slightly. "Guess I need to stretch a lot more. My muscles are killing me lately."_

_He smiled brightly as he set the tires down and walked back over to her. "Well maybe we could do some more exercises to help. I mean, things are getting better with your calming exercises. Your emotions seem to be improving lately." he commented, brushing a hand through his hair. "We could try running across the beach a little."_

_Machi sighed, moving over to sit down on the blanket that she had brought to sit on. "Why don't we take a break for a bit. We both look like we need one." she suggested, pulling out a water bottle to drink from. "You need to keep drinking your fluids."_

_This made him laugh as he joined her on the blanket. "Now you're definitely sounding like your mom. I think that medical part is rubbing off on you."_

_"Oh come on, that's pretty self-explanatory. Besides, you need to drink something. You're looking awfully tired." she explained, worriedly looking over at his exhausted stature. "How much have you been training lately?"_

_Izuku rubbed the back of his head absentmindedly. "Oh...well...I guess a lot."_

_Narrowing her eyes, she reached over to push his hair back from his forehead as she checked his face. His eyes seemed slightly sunken in and bloodshot. "Izuku...have you been sleeping at all?" she asked, seeing a blush creeping onto his face. _

_"O-of course!" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he pulled away._

_"Have you been eating?"_

_He avoided her gaze, a hand going to his stomach. "Uh...well..."_

_A growl from his stomach alerted the both of them making Izuku blush even more while she narrowed her eyes playfully._

_"Izuku..." she stared making Izuku frantically shake his head._

_"I'm eating! I'm eating! I swear I am!" he yelled, waving his hands back and forth._

_She giggled at his denial and excitement. It was definitely a change from her normal schedule and what sorts of people she was used to seeing all the time. Izuku Midoria was nothing like her classmates at school. And she liked that about him. _

_Sighing heavily, she reached into her bag and pulled out a small container. "Here, just eat a little. I don't think either of us want to see you throwing up out here."_

_Taking the small container from her, he pulled the lid off to have the scent of something delicious fill the air. Inside was a small amount of fried rice and several slices of cooked pork with panko breading. "Machi...you didn't have to..."_

_She just shrugged. "I'm sorry it's not much. We had plenty of leftovers from dinner last night. Thought you could use something to eat."_

_Izuku's mouth practically watered at the sight while his tongue slid across his lips. "Wow...it looks...wow."_

_A little giggle escaped her own lips. "Soooo do you think you'll eat it?"_

_"I...well I...Al-I mean my mentor told me that I should watch my diet!" he stammered, his cheeks turning red. "And I..."_

_Her face fell just a bit before she tried to put a smile on. "Oh no, it's okay. I know that Toshinori is really pushing you hard."_

_That was still an enigma to her. Izuku's mysterious mentor. __He had introduced himself as Toshinori, but for some reason, Izuku almost called him something else and quickly caught himself. Was that really his name? Or was there something-_

_"Machi?"_

_Shaking herself out of her daze, Machi looked over to see Izuku smiling. "Do you have any utensils? I'll eat just a little bit. I'm sure a little pork and rice won't be so bad."_

_Her heart lightened a bit at his words before she handed over what he needed. "Are you sure he won't be angry?"_

_Shaking his head, Izuku dug into the container. "Let's just keep it our little secret, okay?" he asked before popping a chunk of rice into his mouth. It only took a second for his eyes to widen and his mouth to nearly drop open. When he swallowed the first bite, he turned to Machi with a shocked expression on his face._

_"What's wrong? Did you burn yourself? Is it too spicy?" she exclaimed, feeling panic begin to surge through her body. "Oh no...why did I let myself do that? Oh Izuku, I'm so sorry."_

_"This is...absolutely delicious!" Izuku exclaimed loudly as tears began welling up in his eyes._

_"What?"_

_"Machi! This is amazing!" he exclaimed getting to his feet before he ate another bite quickly._

_She blinked in surprise as she watched him bring the container closer to his mouth as he began eating as if he hadn't eaten in days, tears freely rolling down his cheeks. _

_"Uhh...I'm glad you like it." she began before the panic dissipated and a giggle bubbled in her chest. "Just don't eat too much so quickly."_

_Izuku abruptly stopped, realizing how silly and desperate he looked before lowering the container. "Oh...uh...sorry about that." he mumbled embarrassingly, wiping the back of his mouth with his sleeve. "Guess I look pretty strange, don't I?"_

_"Well...we do live in a Quirk filled world, so I think we see some stranger things out there." _

_They both laughed at the situation before Machi spoke up again. _

_"You know, you still haven't told me what your Quirk is." _

_Izuku jolted at her comment. "Uh...yeah..."_

_Smiling brightly, she glanced over at the boy. "Sooooo...are you going to give me any hints?"_

_Paling for a moment, Izuku faced the ocean and shook his head. "N-no. It's still a surprise." _

_Sighing, she shook her head in dismay. "You're really killing me here with all this."_

_That was another mystery to her, Izuku's Quirk. Even if had been several months, he had never given her even the slightest hint to what his Quirk was. Was it so secretive that he could never tell a soul? Or was he just keeping it a surprise for when the time came? Either way, it was definitely torture for Machi to never know._

_"Sorry..." he mumbled under his breath before__ putting the lid back on the container and set it on the blanket. __"Speaking of Quirks...I think that it's about time for you to start your Quirk training."_

_Machi's heart sunk at his words, but when Izuku held out his hand, she reluctantly took it and walked towards the water. His hand felt warm despite the chill in the air. _

_"Come on, it's just a little training." he assured Machi as bit her lower lip. _

_"Yeah...but I'm not sure if this will do any good, Izuku. I mean, yesterday I managed to make it rain like three times and that was on myself. I didn't bring any spare clothes with me this time."_

_Izuku stood beside her and held up his hands, releasing hers. "It'll be okay. We can try another emotion."_

_Her eyes widened in horror. "Oh no, Izuku, lighting? That's kind of dangerous, isn't it?"_

_"Well...yeah..." he started as he stood a few feet from her. "But I'm sure it'll be okay. I mean...you won't intentionally hurt me, right?"_

_Well that definitely didn't help her moral with those words._

_"Not really helping me out there, Izuku..." Machi groaned, biting her lower lip._

_Realizing what he had just said, Izuku jumped and frantically waved his arms. "Ah! Forget what I said! Please don't think about that! Just focus on control!"_

_Her head dropped forward. "Not really helping..." she whimpered in misery. _

_She appreciated Izuku's help, despite her doubts about being able to control her Quirk by the exam. After all, they only had two more months to train before the big day. _

_But while they were training and working on their Quirks, Machi and Izuku spent the time getting to know one another. He was kind and funny towards her and definitely brought a smile to her face. It was the first time she actually felt at peace with someone. She didn't really have many friends in school and from what Izuku had told her, he didn't either. But that was okay. For now, they had one another. Two very out of place teens in a Quirk filled world and trying to fight their way to the top despite the odds. _

_"Come on. You can do it." Izuku told her encouragingly. "Just think of something that could make you mad and try to focus your lightning somewhere else. Mainly not me!" _

_"Don't worry!" she called to him as she faced an old washing machine that had been dropped on the beach the other day. "Ummm...I'll give it my all." _

_"That's the spirit!" Izuku cheered, holding his arms up. "Just focus on the machine. Think about striking the washing machine and not me."_

_Machi faced the piece of machinery and closed her eyes. Memories from her past began swirling through her mind. 'Think of something angry...what makes me angry.' she thought to herself as the image of her classmates came to mind. The looks on their faces when they would look over their shoulders at her as they whispered and teased. The things they would say about her being a mistake. That her Quirk wasn't made for her. _

_'It shouldn't belong to her. If anything, I should be that one who can wield the weather.'_

_'Yeah, Machiko should have gotten something less powerful.'_

_Machi's eyes squeezed tightly as her fists balled up. "No...no. It's my Quirk." she whispered softly before she felt the anger beginning to surge in her chest. "It's my Quirk!"_

_There was a loud crash, followed by a scream of terror._

_Eyes flew open and there was Izuku, lying on the beach while the patch of sand in front of his body had been burned slightly. She had struck him with her lightning!_

_"Izuku!" she shrieked as she flew to his side. "Oh my gosh! Are you okay?"_

_He winched slightly and moaned in pain. "Owwww...I think you got my legs a little..." he groaned as he lifted his head to stare down at his legs. They had been slightly burned by the blast, but it didn't look too serious. "But I'm alive, so that's a good thing."_

_Machi sighed in relief, but still hung her head. "I'm so sorry I hurt you, Izuku. I swear, I wasn't aiming for you." _

_He took a few shaky breaths before trying to sit up. "I'm...fine..." he winced. "You didn't get me too badly. I felt like a shock more than anything. Besides, I think you struck the sand in front of me. So you didn't actually get me." _

_"But I still hit you, Izuku. Oh no, we have to get you to a hospital. And I'm..."_

_"It's okay..." he __interrupted her, placing a hand on her arm. "You did great." _

_Her eyebrows pulled together in confusion. Was he crazy? She did great after she nearly killed him?! "I...I don't understand what you're talking about, Izuku. I mean, I could've just killed you then." _

_Izuku smiled weakly. "That's true, you could have done that. But think about what you didn't do." he began, watching her face. "__You didn't shock yourself. Even if you didn't really hit me, you still got close. You got close to hitting a target."_

_"But...it wasn't the washing machine like I focused on."_

_"I know I know, but you managed to hit something other than yourself. It's improvement. You've been shocking yourself or randomly hitting stuff with no control when we started out. And now, you've managed to get closer to a target." _

_Machi stared at him as he rubbed his head. "But..."_

_"But nothing. You're making progress. Just like my mentor says, you're just getting one step closer to being a hero."_

_She blinked a few times before he went on. _

_"Look, I know it seems like we're not really progressing here at times, but you'll get there. Just like me, we're both working towards the same goal in life."_

_"And...that is?" _

_"Becoming a hero."_

_Machi felt her heart squeeze at his words. _

_Izuku placed his hand over hers. "You're going to be a great hero one day, Machi. I know UA isn't your first pick for a school and I know that you think you can't control your Quirk, but you're going to make one amazing hero one day." he told her with a wide grin. "If we keep training like this and work at it every day...we both might have a chance of getting in together. And after that, we can keep working towards that life goal." _

_Machi felt tears beginning to form in her eyes as she stared at the boy in front of her. In all of her life, she had never met someone so sweet and inspiring. Most teachers just said things like 'you'll do great things' or 'you'll change the world' and then leave it at that, thinking of it as a confidence boost. But Izuku...this boy had gone and offered her help when she never asked for it. He was just a stranger and instead of just going on with his life after they met, he chose to give up some of his training time to help her. A nobody. _

_She wiped away her tears before __gently hugging him tightly.__ "Thanks, Izuku. I'm not sure what to say in response to that, but I really appreciate what you're trying to do for me. But...I swear, I don't want to hurt you anymore. No more lightning for awhile until I can think of a better way to use it, okay?" _

_"Okay." he agreed with a light chuckle. "No more lightning. But...you'll get it right some day." _

_She nodded to her friend as she helped him to his feet, hearing him wince at the pain in his legs. "Yeah. But right now, we're taking you to my mom for a quick check up."_

_Izuku held onto Machi's arm as they carefully walked together. "Okay, you're right. Maybe we should talk to your mom. I think that pain is starting to kick in." he winced as he leaned against her. "By the way, do you think she could make some more of that pork and rice for me?"_

_She giggled at his desire to eat all of a sudden despite what had just occurred. "Yeah, I'm sure."_

**~ End Flashback ~**

"Hey." a voice spoke, breaking Machi from her thoughts.

Startled, Machi turned to see a taller boy standing next to her. He had tall spiky red hair that reminded her of a tomato and muscles that were much bigger than her own. He seemed rather intimidating, but there was a look in his eyes that read something different. Something friendly.

"Oh! I...I'm sorry..." Machi apologized, pushing her messy hair back as she stepped back. "C-can I help you?"

The red haired giant rubbed the back of his neck and smiled widely, showing off his sharp teeth that resembled a shark. The sight alone had Machi shrinking back.

"Nah, it's nothing important at all. I was just checking to see if you were okay. You were dazing out there for a moment or two. I was kind of worried you were having a panic attack or not."

She blushed sightly at this, rubbing her hands together. "Um...n-no. I was just...um thinking."

The stranger nodded his head. "Well that's good to hear. I heard someone already passed out and had to be hauled off in an ambulance."

Machi's eyes widened and her heart sunk. "What? I-is that true?"

Was this test that insane? Did students actually pass out from the anxiety or collapse during the test?

Suddenly he burst out laughing, his chest rising and falling with each laugh. "I'm sorry! I had you going there for a second." he apologized, rubbing his eyes a little with the back of his hand.

Machi frowned for a moment before turning away. That sort of joke reminded her of the hurtful things the students at her school used to say. "That's not funny..."

His laughter stopped instantly. "Aw crud, I'm really sorry about that. I was just trying to make a quick joke and try to lighten the situation. I'm sorry that it sounded rude." he told her quickly, trying to see if she was truly angry. "I just...I'm really nervous like everyone else is right now and thought it would be a funny joke. I'm really sorry I said it."

Machi's frown dropped, but never said anything. He seemed sincere for what he had said and she could definitely tell he was embarrassed by his tone. Not every student here was like her old classmates. Maybe this one was like Izuku.

"It's okay." she mumbled softly. "I understand what you mean by being nervous."

He glanced up at the huge building before them. "Yeah, but hopefully it'll be worth it in the end." Then he looked back at her. "Uhh...if you're not ready to hit me, is it okay if I introduce myself?" he asked, holding out his hand to her. "Name's Ejirou Kirishima."

Her eyes stared at it before she slowly put her hand into his. "Machiko Imara."

His sharp grin spread across his face. "Nice to meet someone else whose in the same boat as me." he chuckled softly, taking his hand back. "I'm really sorry about before."

Machi managed a smile. "It's fine. I'm sure you meant well. I guess my nerves are getting the best of me right now."

"True." he responded before looking back towards the doors. "Well I'd better get in there before they start the exam without me."

"Yeah, I guess so too."

Kirishima started to walk towards the building before stopping and turning around. "Did you want to walk in together? I mean if you still hate me, then feel free to never speak to me again." he teased with a laugh, earning a light chuckle from her.

The blunette was surprised by his offer and quickly glanced over her shoulder to see a familiar face appear at the gates. Relief spread through her chest as Izuku ran inside the gates, stumbling a little as he stopped to bend over to catch his breath. Then she turned back to the red head, who was waiting patiently behind her.

"Um...I'll see you inside in a bit. My friend just got here so I'm going to make sure he's okay. Don't want him passing out during the exam. But good luck to you in there."

Kirishima smiled brightly. "Oh okay. I'll see you in there. Good luck to you too!"

As soon as he left, Machi turned to rush to Izuku's side. When she reached him, she stopped when someone yelled out something.

"Move aside, Deku!" a very angry blonde haired boy growled at Izuku. "Get out of the way or else your dead!"

Machi backed away in fear just as Izuku did. 'Deku?'

"Kacchan! M-morning! Let's both do our best..." Izuku tried to say to the blonde before he stormed past the both of them.

He stopped for a moment to glance at Machi, his teeth gritting together. Then he sneered at her before continuing his way into the UA building.

Staring awkwardly at the blonde, Machi turned to see Izuku standing behind her, his expression unreadable.

"Uh...Izuku...what was that all about? Who was that?"

Flinching for a moment, Izuku quickly resumed his position and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh uh...that was just an old friend." he laughed quickly before cutting himself off.

Machi glanced between Izuku and the blonde, who was now walking through the main doors. "Uh...I mean I'm not really one to judge someone's friendship or anything buuuuuut...that didn't really seem like a friendly greeting."

His smile faltered for a moment. "Uh...well Kacchan is...well Kacchan."

"Oooookay." Then she took a moment to examine Izuku's figure. He was sweating profusely and his eyes drooped as if he hadn't slept in days. "Izuku, I know I've been saying this over and over like a broken record or something...but you really need to get some sleep after this. You look...no offense...pretty awful."

He panted, dragging a hand down his face. "I uh...I'm okay. I didn't sleep much last night. And after this is all over...I plan on sleeping for the next week."

She gave him a weak smile before placing her hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's get in there before they start without us."

But as they took a step forward, Izuku tripped forward and nearly took Machi down with him. But as they fell, their bodies stopped in midair and never met the ground. It felt as if there was an invisible force field holding them back from falling forward.

"Wh-what the heck?!" Machi squeaked out, holding onto Izuku like a lifeline.

"What's happening?!" Izuku yelled as they stared down at the ground.

"Are you two okay?" a female voice asked softly, making them both turn.

Directly beside them was a young girl with shoulder length brunette hair and adorable pink cheeks. She was dressed in a long coat with a winding scarf around her neck.

Machi's mouth opened and closed a few times as if this was completely normal. "Uh...I mean...we're floating here...but..."

"Oh! Sorry about that!" she apologized before gently touching Machi's arm.

Suddenly the two stumbled forward and surprisingly landed on their feet.

Izuku blinked with wide eyes, glancing over at the girl. "H-how?"

She giggled and placed her hands together. "It's my quirk. Sorry for stopping you. But...it's a bad omen to trip and fall." They both stared at her in surprise as she smiled brightly. "This sure is nerve wrecking."

"Uh...yeah..." Izuku stuttered, feeling embarrassed by his near accident and having to be saved by this random girl.

"Yeah...thank you for that." Machi agreed, staring at her. Her smile looked like it could almost melt ice. Secretly, Machi wished she had a smile like hers.

"It's no problem." Then she glanced up at the building and gasped. "Oh! It's almost time. Good luck to you guys in there!"

With that, the girl practically skipped inside as if she was so excited to take this exam.

"Well...she's awfully chipper." Machi commented, glancing at her friend, who was blushing madly like a tomato. "Are you okay?"

"M-me?! Oh yeah! Fine!" he stuttered, feeling embarrassed that she saw him.

"What's with you?" Machi asked with a giggle. "Did you think she was cute or something? You look like a lovesick puppy."

"N-no!" he squeaked, earning several glances from different students.

Machi burst out laughing at this for the first time in awhile at Izuku's expression. "Come on, Izuku." she told him before sliding her arm around his and led him into the academy. "Let's do our best, okay? And then after this, we'll go back to my house for pork and rice bowls. After that, you're going to get some sleep."

Izuku managed a smile and followed her inside the building. "Yeah, we can do this."

* * *

A few hours later, Machi and Izuku stood among the other young students, who nervously waited for Pro Hero, Present Mic, to give the signal to go. Izuku was pacing nervously, muttering a few things to himself, while Machi wrung her hands as they stood within the massive fake city that was filled with skyscrapers and other buildings that towered over them.

Izuku was still walking off the embarrassment from earlier when he had been mumbling through Present Mic's speech. He had been caught by an overly excited student, who seemed to be like that one person who would remind the teacher about the homework from the night before. He had called out her friend in front of the hundreds of students who laughed at him. That angered Machi slightly. She hated people like that, but Izuku didn't seem to mind. When she had asked if he was okay, he just brushed off the incident and promised that he was okay.

By now, he was standing in front of the city, staring up at the buildings as if he was stiff as a board.

Machi gently touched his shoulder and he jolted, turning to face her. "Are you okay?"

"M-me? Oh! I'm fine!" he yelped, making her brows rise.

Biting her lower lip, she squeezed his shoulder. "Izuku, it's okay to admit that you're nervous." she began, glancing around at the students who were waiting. Then she faced him again. "I just want you to know that I have faith in you. You have been trying your hardest to train for this and I can tell that you are more than ready to join this prestigious school. Whatever your Quirk is, I'm sure it'll be amazing." she grinned brightly, making Izuku blush.

He calmed for a moment before patting her hand gently. "Thanks, Machi. You'll do great as well. Just make sure to keep your emotions in check. Don't forget to channel them."

She nodded in response, watching him hold his clenched fists in front of him. Definitely determined despite the nerves.

"Oh!" Izuku gasped when he turned to see the small brunette girl again. "It's her!"

"So it is." Machi spoke softly, spying the young girl with the special Quirk.

"I-I forgot to thank her for earlier." he mumbled, bowing his head slightly.

"Well we've got a moment or two before the bell, so go thank her and wish her luck. I'm sure she would appreciate it." she told her friend with a reassuring smile.

Izuku smiled back before nodding and began making his way over to the girl slowly.

Machi watched him go before a hand touched her shoulder. "Hey, Machiko. Glad to see you're here."

She turned to see Kirishima standing behind her with a wide sharp toothed grin. "Hey Kirishima. It's nice to see that you didn't chicken out."

He laughed loudly at her joke, rubbing the back of his spiky hair. "Yeah, I kind of missed my moment back there. Too late to leave now."

At least some of these students were friendly. Maybe going to this school wouldn't be so bad after all.

"That girl seems to be doing some sort of mediation." a familiar voice spoke coldly and awfully loud for enough students to hear. Machi turned to see the over achieving student place a hand on Izuku's shoulder before he reached the girl.

Machi narrowed her eyes as Izuku slowly turned his head and flinched. What was that guy doing? She could feel something in her veins begin to boil as he started to yell loudly, making all the other contestants turn to face Izuku and the student.

"Why are you here?! Hoping to interfere?" he accused, making Izuku begin to panic.

Izuku shook his head wildly as he protested that he was doing nothing of the sort.

Some nearby students began to laugh and say some rather nasty words about Izuku. Things along the lines of being a cry baby, a loser that could easily be defeated, and of course the embarrassment that he should feel after that guy had called him out in the middle of the intro speech Present Mic gave.

"Excuse me for a moment." Machi told Kirishimia in a voice that she barely even recognized as she began walking towards the dark haired student with glasses who continued to interrogate Izuku.

"And furthermore you-"

"Hey!" Machi barked at the taller boy, making him turn her way along with a few other students. "Leave him alone!"

"Excuse me?"

"I said back off and leave him alone!" she shouted, scaring a few students with her tone.

The dark haired teen straightened himself up. "I hardly think you should be-"

"Oh I think you should leave him alone. Right now."

He opened his mouth before Machi cut him off.

"Who gives you the right to tell him what to do? Huh?! So what if he wants to go talk to that girl? Who are _**you**_ to tell him what he can and cannot do?" she snarled, pointing at him

"It's actually can't." he tried to correct before she started again.

"Don't you dare patronize the way I use my words!"

Izuku's eyes widened in shock at the sight. What was Machi doing? She never raised her voice like this before. Even when they trained together, she never yelled at him or even showed her anger when using her lightning. At least not to his knowledge. Most of it was internal anger.

Clenching her fists, Machi took a step towards the stranger while the other students stared in shock. "You're a contestant same as everyone else here. Trying to be a hero and getting into UA."

"Honestly-"

"I'm not finished!" she screeched, making Izuku shrink away.

Everyone was silent by now, watching the blue haired girl go on with her angry tirade.

"You claim that you want to be a hero and yet, you're singling out someone who made a tiny mistake. What kind of hero does that?!" she snarled, her teeth gritting together painfully. "Don't you ever call out someone who might seem weaker than you or just because they're an easy target!" Her head whipped around to the other students who had been teasing Izuku behind his back. "And as for the rest of you out there! Shut your pathetic mouths and focus on yourselves! If you're really here to be a hero then shut up and go on with your life! You're acting like villains instead of heroes!"

The teen's eyes widened beneath his glasses and took a cautious step back from Machi while Izuku's eyes grew to be about as big as his head. What Machi didn't realize is that lightning was beginning to surround her body as if she was becoming a human lightning rod.

"Machi..." Izuku breathed as her hair began to rise in various directions. What was happening to her?

The other students stared in shock at the once meek blunette, who was now about ready to fire back at whoever challenged her.

She then turned to glare at the overachiever before her. "So for the sake of heroes and for the good of being polite..." Suddenly her eyes glowed yellow like a burst of light. "Stop being like a bunch of bullies and villains and get your heads out of your butts!"

"ANNNNNNNND BEGIN!" Present Mic shouted loudly as a loud horn went off.

The second the gates opened, a massive robot appeared, towering over all of the teens, who were now in complete shock and caught off guard.

Suddenly Machi pointed her hand in the direction of the massive piece of machinery and fired off a lighting blast. A loud scream vibrated through her entire body as lightning exploded against the robot. It only took one blast to send the destroyed robot to the ground. Machi never flinched as it crashed next to her, making the whole ground shake beneath their feet.

Every student stayed in place as they stared at the girl in shock before Present Mic's voice came over the loud speaker again. "Uhhh that means 'go' everyone! I know things might seem pretty exciting, but you're all in this too!"

Before any students could move, Machi felt power surge through her as she leaped into the air and shot a lighting blast at another bot that came around the corner. It went down just like before. After that, something seemed to snap in all of the students and they began rushing into the arena to fight as well.

As Machi rushed into the city, she never got to see the look of pure shock and confusion on Izuku's face.

"Machi..." he whispered as he watched his friend rush off without another word. What had just happened?

* * *

**I'm sorry for all those Iida fans out there who I have probably upset, but I had to do it! When I saw that episode for the first time, I got so angry over the way he went after Izuku while the other students laughed at him. Yes, the hero is supposed to start from the bottom and I'm sure Iida didn't mean to be so nasty to him since it's in his nature, but that scene makes me so mad. Being someone who was bullied for most of my school life, I wanted to give Izuku someone who would fight for him and stand up to those bullies out there.**

**(Also, the change with the beach scene...I knew it sounded weird when I posted it, but I kept telling myself that it was okay to post it because maybe it was just the perfectionist in me. But the more I thought about it, the less sense it made to me. So that's why I went back and changed it. I hope it makes better sense now.)**

**Anyways, I know it was a long chapter and it took me awhile, but I hope you enjoyed it. I'm not the greatest with fight scenes, but I'm working on them. Hope it all made sense. I'm working on chapter 4 as we speak so I'm not sure how much longer it will take me to get that one done. Honestly, I'm shocked that I was able to get this one out in a week! I never do that! Usually it takes me a month or two to post a chapter. I think it's the drive I get when I keep seeing my inbox fill up with follows, favorites, and reviews. You guys are pushing me to write more each week and I have say thank you for this! I hope you guys stay on board with this story and continue to share your excitement and thoughts! Don't be shy to leave a review even if it's short or long. I appreciate hearing whatever you guys have to say! Thanks again everyone and don't forget...GO BEYOND AND PLUS ULTRA!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Helloooooo fellow My Hero readers! I do apologize for not being able to post for awhile. It's been a stressful few weeks on my end, including my grandma passing away. It's been rough, but my family is getting through this. I have returned, and I hope to keep updating sooner with the holiday season coming.**

**If nobody of you noticed, I actually updated the last chapter. During that beach scene flashback, I kept thinking about how strange it sounded so I went back and changed it a bit. If you haven't seen it, you can go back and reread it again if you wanted to see what changed. **

**Thank you to all my lovely readers for putting me on your alerts and favorite lists as well as the extremely sweet reviews! You guys are the best! I hope you all enjoy the latest chapter of this story! This was a little hard, but I really enjoyed the one scene with a certain someone. :) You'll see! I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter and continue being the most amazing readers ever! ^_^ **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own My Hero Academia. I only on my OC, Machiko/Machi.**

* * *

Eventually, the test was nearing the end and Machi was a force to be reckoned with. She had taken down at least three robots in one shot, earning her several more points in the last minute. Her mind seemed to be focused on one thing and one thing only. Anger.

She fired another bolt of lighting from her hand, knocking down another two pointer target, letting out a roar of rage.

Machi could barely even concentrate on anything else at this very moment as she rushed through the fake city. Something about seeing Izuku dealing with those bullies reminded her of the days when she was a child. The look of fear her classmates had when she had accidentally caused lightning to fire into the classroom. And then that fear turned into hate and isolation. Her classmates would make fun of her behind her back, never invited her to hang out or join a group for anything, and they pretended like she never existed at the school sometimes.

Seeing what happened with Izuku, imagining that he was just like her in that moment, just seemed to infuriate Machi and all she wanted to do was protect and fight against those bullies. She would actually stand up for herself and fight back!

"Watch out!" a voice shouted, grabbing Machi's attention.

Whipping around, she saw the girl from earlier standing a few feet from Machi, her hands up in the air. Machi's anger seemed to dissipate suddenly like a big balloon letting its air out rapidly. The lightning that surrounded her dulled until it was completely gone, leaving her slightly weakened and her adrenaline drained. She stumbled slightly, but managed to catch herself.

"Get out of the way!" the girl shouted, gritting her teeth as her eyes shifted above Machi's head. "Before you get crushed!"

Machi glanced up to see a robot literally floating above her head. Letting out a small squeak, she quickly darted out of the way before she could be crushed.

"Release!" the other girl shouted before she pressing the tips of her fingers together. The robot suddenly crashed on the ground, causing the earth to shake beneath them. Pieces of metal crashed to the ground, making both girls dart out of the way.

"Wow..." Machi marveled softly before she saw the girl rush to her side.

"Hey." she panted heavily. "You okay?"

Machi ran a hand through her messy hair that had definitely seen better days. She really should cut it or even tie it back once in awhile. "Oh yeah, thanks for that. Guess I didn't realize you could make things float too." Machi tried to joke, rubbing the back of her head. "Thanks to you, I wasn't crushed to a pancake."

"Yeah..." she agreed, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly before her expression turned serious. "There's that, but are _**you** _okay? I mean, I saw what happened a little bit ago and...

Machi's stomach plummeted at the girl's words. Was it that bad? Honestly, she cold barely remember what happened. The anger had blinded her and caused her to use her Quirk in a way that she had never imagined. All she could recall is that the other students were teasing Izuku while that one overachieving student harassed him. After that...it was just...frustration, anger, and intense hatred that she had never experienced in her life.

A sick feeling began to twist inside of her torso as she tried to think of an excuse. What sort of excuse could she really say? Machi didn't even know what sorts of things she was capable of!

"Oh...I'm sorry about that...I-"

The brunette shook her head, holding up her hands defensively. "Oh no, it's cool. Some of these guys back there were being rather ridiculous." she replied with a gentle smile. As her arms lowered, her hands came together as she rocked on her heels. "I've just never seen someone do that and use their Quirk. It was actually really exciting."

Machi stared at the girl, puzzled by her response. "It was?"

"Well yeah, don't think I've ever seen a lightning or electricity Quirk like that before."

Machi squeezed her hands together while teeth dug into her lower lip. "It's actually a weather Quirk."

The girl's eyes widened and a big smile appeared on her face. "A weather Quirk? Wow! You'll have to tell me more about it when we're all done." she said before glancing over her shoulder. "Uh-oh. We've got two more minutes left." Then she turned back to Machi. "We can talk later about all this. My name's Ochako Uraraka! And yours?"

"Uh...Machiko Imara!" Machi shouted at Uraraka, who was beginning to back away, preparing to get back to the fight.

But just as the girls were about to rush off to the next battle, a massive robot, bigger than any of the previous ones out there suddenly appeared, making everyone within range stop in their footsteps.

"It's a Gimmick!" one male student shouted.

"Run away!" yelled another as the various contestants began running the other way.

From what Present Mic had said, those bad boys weren't worth any points and were just there as an obstacle.

Machi stared in awe at the robot that towered over all of the other buildings and began destroying whatever was in its path. As she turned to run, she spotted Izuku laying on the ground, crawling backwards frantically.

"Izuku!" she shouted, grabbing his attention for a moment.

"Machi! Wh-what are you-" he stuttered before she cut him off as she sped over to help him.

"No time, we have to get away from that thing." she told him quickly as he looked over her face. "Are you okay? Can you move?"

He blinked frantically, eyes darting back and forth between her and the Gimmick. "Y-eah, I'm fine. Are you okay? Earlier you-"

"Yes yes! I know I looked crazy and I went on a rampage, but I'm okay now and we need to get you out of the way so you can earn some points." she cut him off, tugging on his arm so they could escape like the rest of the teens were.

"B-but! I don't have any points!" he squeaked, making Machi stop abruptly and stare down into his eyes.

"What?!"

How could Izuku have no points at all?! What happened?!

Shaking his head frantically, he pushed against Machi while everyone continued to run past them. "I-I don't know!" Tears began welling up in his eyes as a look of panic crossed his face. "I-I was trying and-"

Suddenly the Gimmick threw a punch into a building, sending several large chunks of concrete into the air.

Machi and Izuku screamed as smaller pieces of the building rained on top of their heads. Thankfully, it wasn't anything too big. Fear racked through their bodies as they looked at the massive piece of machinery that was beginning to terrorize the other students who ran away like dozens of frightened mice.

Izuku shakily got to his feet, gripping Machi's arm tightly. "M-Machi, we need to run. C-come on!"

She followed her friend along with everyone else until Izuku stopped abruptly, causing Machi crash into him. "What are you doing?!" she exclaimed, tugging on his arm. "We have to-" Machi was cut off when she whirled around to see what Izuku was staring at.

Her eyes widened in horror as she stared at a massive pile of broken building pieces and gravel. At the bottom of the pile was Uraraka, pinned beneath a large piece of concrete. The brunette moaned in pain as she tried to pull her leg out.

"Oh my gosh..." Machi whispered softly as they watched the machine roll closer to her. If Uraraka didn't get away, she would be crushed! But...the teachers wouldn't do that, would they?

She opened her mouth to yell, but before she could even utter a word, a massive gust of wind passed through her, making Machi fall back onto her backside. When she looked up, she spied Izuku flying through the air towards the machine.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Machi watched as electrical currents surged through Izuku's legs and arms as he dove up to smash his fist into the robot. In a split second, the punch ricocheted off of the face and suddenly a gaping hole blew through the metal.

Everyone around Machi stared in shock as the robot fell to the ground as if it took nothing to knock it down.

'Is that...Izuku's Quirk?' Machi thought to herself as she watched him hover in midair for a moment. 'Holy crap...that's...amazing...'

She couldn't help but stare in awe at her friend and what he had just accomplished. It had been so long since they had met and she had never seen what he had to offer UA. But now, she could definitely see why he kept it a secret and it would definitely get him into UA at this point.

However, his body began to descend towards the ground at an alarming rate. Izuku's scream of terror filled the air while his limbs flailed about as he fell. Why wasn't he stopping?! What was wrong?!

"Oh my gosh...he's going to die..." Machi cried out as she helplessly watched him.

'Why aren't my legs moving?!' she wailed internally. 'Move! MOVE YOU IDIOT!'

But just as his body neared the ground, Machi spotted Uraraka levitating on a piece of fallen robot and managed to slap Izuku across the face. As soon as she did that, his body hovered a few feet from the asphalt. Uruhara's eyes squeezed shut as her hands pretended to hold an invisible object between them. "Release!" she shouted as her hands pressed together and Izuku crashed to the ground.

Machi felt her heart pound as she stared at her friend, who now lay limp. Everyone around them stood in shock, nobody rushing to his side.

Finally, Machi's legs began to move and she darted to his side. "Izuku!" she screamed out as she knelt down beside him. Horrified, she noticed the discoloration of his right arm, which had turned a dark purple. It looked like it had been shattered. "Oh my gosh! Are you okay?!"

Izuku moaned in pain as he lifted his head. He had tears streaming down his cheeks and his mouth hung open. "I...I can't feel my legs...ow...or my arm..." he cried out as before his eyes widened. "Ah! I have to get out of here!" Then he began dragging himself away with his good arm. "I still have a chance! I have to get at least one point!"

"IT'S ALL OVER!" Present Mic's voice shouted over the loudspeaker, making everyone freeze.

Dread filled Machi's chest as her eyes darted between the timer and Izuku, who was now clutching the ground as he began to cry. Izuku had no points. This wasn't possible!

* * *

About an hour later, Machi sat beside an infirmary bed while Izuku lay there, snoring softly. She stared at him worriedly while her fingers pulled at the bottom of her shirt.

After things had finished at the exam, the Medical Hero, Recovery Girl, showed up and helped the other teachers carry Izuku to the infirmary to heal. Machi was allowed to be there with him as long as she left when time was up. The other examines just stood by watching in shock, none of them stepping up to help.

'Bunch of arrogant, inconsiderate, and heartless jerks.' she had thought to herself as she caught their various gazes.

Thankfully, she didn't have another meltdown of anger. That would've gotten ugly if it had. At this point, Machi still had no clue on why she had reacted that way. She had never used her Quirk in that way. What was wrong with her?! She could've injured someone if she wasn't careful! Worst of all, she had no recollection of what she had done.

A small moan of pain caught her attention, breaking her thoughts as she glanced down to see Izuku flinching in his sleep.

She frowned when she began examining the damage that had been done. Poor Izuku was wrapped up in so many bandages, she could barely even tell it was him. Both legs and his arm had been crushed during the exam, but the question was...by what? Did Izuku's Quirk do this to him? Why? How? Perhaps...he never used the Quirk because it rendered him like this.

"Oh Izuku...I'm so sorry..." she whispered as she reached over to touch his bandaged arm. "I wish I could help you..."

"You did wonderfully, Dearie." an elderly voice spoke from the doorway.

Machi turned to see a very short woman wearing a lab coat and what seemed to be goggles step inside the room. "Oh, Recovery Girl...I..." she began as she tried to stand to leave, feeling embarrassed to be there.

"Oh no Dearie, it's quite alright. You can sit back down. You're no bother at all." she chuckled softly as she waddled in, using her cane to walk. "I just came in to see how my patient was doing."

The blunette sighed as she sat back down. "Uh...he's been sleeping for about an hour now."

Recovery Girl stood at his bedside and checked his vitals. "I'm not surprised. After what this poor boy has been through, he needs all the rest he can get. Shattering three different limbs at once can be very taxing on the body." Then she sighed, shaking her head. "He should have _**never**_ used this sort of power like that."

As Machi sat there, she couldn't help but stare in awe as she sat in the presence of a real hero! She was her mother's idol! And Machi's as well. She did so much for the public and managed to save so many people with her healing capabilities.

"Dearie?" she spoke, alerting the younger girl.

"Oh! Um yes?"

The hero moved over to Machi and leaned in closer to get a good look of her face. "You're the young girl who shot down the first robot, are you not?"

Machi blinked a few times before she managed a nod. "Oh uh...yes. At least, I think so."

Recovery Girl went to the nearby table to grab the big pitcher of water and poured it into a small glass. "That was a very impressive thing you did back there. Taking the first shot. That definitely shows promise in UA. Especially after the amount of power you used to take it down." She spoke, turning to hand Machi the glass. "What sort of Quirk do you have, Dearie? Is it electricity? My my, we would have two electrical Quirks at UA."

"No, at least I don't think so." Machi responded with a small laugh, taking the glass. "I actually have a weather Quirk."

She smiled as she filled another glass for herself. "A weather Quirk? Well now, I don't believe I've ever met someone with that sort of Quirk before." Then she moved back over to Machi and pulled up a stool to sit down on. "I hope you don't mind if I sit here, Dearie."

"Oh no, I don't mind at all." Machi assured Recovery girl with a gentle smile, trying so hard to not have a fan-girl attack because she was sitting across from a famous hero. "I uh...I just wish that we could have met under different circumstances."

The hero chuckled before taking a sip of water. "Most of my fans always meet me under rather...interesting circumstances. But I always enjoy making my fans smile when I help save their life." Then she looked at Izuku. "What you did for that poor boy took a lot of courage. I happened to see what was going on before the exam took place."

Machi's lips parted when her thoughts drifted back to when she stood against the bullies for Izuku. That was so unlike her to fly off the handle like that. She almost didn't recognize herself.

"Children can be so cruel these days." Recovery Girl sighed as she frowned at Izuku's sleeping form. "I swear, in my day, people weren't so...eager to crush those who seemed weaker than they." Shaking her head, she met Machi's eyes. "Quirks seem to change people. Some for good...and some for bad. But you Dearie, you seemed to use your Quirk to help that poor boy. It might not be like my own Quirk; a quick kiss and someone is healed. But you used your Quirk...to help power yourself up to stand against those who were unkind to your friend. Thankfully, you didn't use them on any of the other students, but you used it on the threat instead."

The two women stared at one another while Izuku's breathing filled the silence between them.

Machi lowered her head to stare at the clear liquid in her hands. "I...I didn't mean to lose control like that. I've never done that before."

The elder hero's frail hand touched Machi's younger one. "Friendship and love can help a Quirk develop over time. Sometimes it can change you and you would never know." Her weathered eyes met Machi's. "You seem to care a lot for that young boy." she sighed softly, squeezing the teen's hand. "In a world like this, having friends definitely helps you grow in life."

The blunette was at a loss for words as she stared at the hero. For a medical hero, Recovery Girl was awfully wise.

"Now then, I have to get back to my patients." Recovery Girl stood to her feet and finished off her glass before grabbing her cane. "But it was lovely to speak to you. I hope you get into UA. I would love to see more of that weather Quirk around the academy."

"Uh...thank you, Miss Recovery Girl." Machi stuttered, brushing a dark strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh Dearie, just call me Recovery Girl. None of this Miss stuff." she giggled before patting Machi on the head. "Lovely to meet you Miss...um...I don't believe I got you name, Dearie."

She blinked a couple of times before her cheeks flushed red. "Oh, I'm Machiko Imara."

Her smile widened. "Oh! You're Sasuka's daughter! Oh you're just as sweet as she described you! I've worked with your mother whenever I'm visiting her hospital. Such a sweet woman. Probably just as smart as I am!"

Machi couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her mother was just as good as Recovery Girl? Wow...

"This was rather unexpected. But I'm so happy to hear that. I know you mother can be skillful with her Quirk. Make sure to tell her that I say hi. I would love to get a cup of tea with her sometime." she told Machi before glancing over at Izuku, who was beginning to stir. "I'll let you two talk for a few moments and I'll be back by later to check on him. Your friend should be fine. Young Izuku had most of his bones shattered, but with my help, I was able to heal most of them. It'll take them some time to be completely healed, but it should only be a few days or a week. Lovely to meet you, Dearie."

With that, Recovery girl exited the room, leaving the two young teens alone.

Izuku's eyes slowly opened and a small moan escaped his lips. "Mmm...wh-where am I?" he groaned, pressing his face into the pillow.

Machi smiled weakly at the green haired boy. "Hey sleepyhead, I'm glad that you're finally awake. How are you feeling?"

"Like...my limbs have been smashed to pieces..." he groaned, his eyes rolling over to meet hers. They seemed so weak and bloodshot.

"Well...that did happen." Machi told him hesitantly, watching his eyes widen.

"Oh no, that did happen..." he moaned, his eyes filling with tears. "I failed...I failed everyone..."

Frowning, she gently touched his good arm. "No, don't say that, Izuku. You didn't-"

"I failed myself. I failed my mom. I failed All Might." Then his eyes rolled over to meet her own. "And I failed you, Machi."

Her heart ached at his words as she watched him sob. To watch this poor boy cry over the loss he had just experienced, it was almost too upsetting to watch.

"Izuku...don't say that." she cooed as she rubbed his arm up and down. "It's going to be okay. You didn't fail anyone. Your mother would be proud that you tried your best. And I'm sure...in some way, you didn't fail All Might. You know how he is with the public." Taking a moment to stand up, Machi moved around to the bed and sat down next to him. "And most importantly, you didn't fail me. Not in the slightest."

With tears streaming down his face, he let out a sob. "But-"

"Let me finish, Izuku." she started again. "You have been training your heart out. I mean, I've never see someone push themselves so hard to achieve a goal." Her hand slid into his good hand. "You might have not gained any points, but you destroyed that robot as if it was nothing. You saved that girl and even if it didn't get you points, I'm sure UA is looking at what you did."

"H-how do you know that?"

Her shoulders moved up and down. "I'm not really sure what may happen. UA isn't normal at all. So who knows? They could consider you to join the school."

A few more tears rolled down his cheeks, only to have Machi gently brush them away. Closing his eyes, he let out a few more sobs as his hand tightened around hers. She squeezed it back before leaning down to give him a small hug, trying to avoid hurting his other arm.

"It'll be okay." she tried to assure her friend.

A shaky sigh left his lips and his crying seemed to slow. "T-thanks Machi."

She pulled back and smiled weakly at him. "Anytime."

After a few moments to calm down, Izuku glanced up at her. So...are you going to tell me how you suddenly turned into a lightning rod and pulled that insane stunt?" he questioned with a half smile.

Scratching the back of her head, Machi bit her lower lip. "Uh...well. I'm still trying to figure that part out."

Izuku closed his eyes slowly. "Well...for what it's worth, thank you for earlier. I didn't know you could fight back like that."

"I hated seeing them treat you like that. You had every right to be there and that guy had no right in scolding you for wanting to talk to someone." she told him, rubbing the back of his hand. "Still not really sure why I practically exploded like that, but I had to fight back. I'm tired of people doing that sorts of stuff. Enough is enough."

Reopening his eyes, Izuku smiled weakly. "Maybe that should be your goal in life. Fight against evil and the bullies."

"Wouldn't hurt to try that." she responded before glancing up at the window. "By the way, since we're on the subject of unknown Quirks, do you wanna tell me why you were hiding that for so long?"

Panic crossed Izuku's face as he shook his head frantically. "Uh...well I..." he stuttered, making Machi burst out laughing. "I can explain..."

* * *

Several days had passed since the exam and things seemed tense for Machi and Izuku. It was mostly due to nerves. Mainly because of the stress of being excepted or rejected into UA.

Machi tried whatever she could to try and soothe her friend's nerves since Izuku was the most affected by the wait. They went to the beach to sit and watch the sunset or sometimes they would take a walk through the city. However, the same blank and deadpanned expression stayed on his face. The look of shock and depression.

She couldn't help but feel bad. In the back of her mind, she scolded herself for not helping Izuku since she had let her anger run rampant. But at the same time, she told herself that she needed to let Izuku do this on his own. He had trained so hard for this and he didn't need someone by his side the whole way. She admired that about him.

Then one very cold day, an envelope showed up in Machi's mailbox. Her mouth dropped when the familiar insignia of UA was written on the front. Without thinking about opening it, she dashed down the street and kept running until she reached Izuku's place. Thankfully, they only lived about ten blocks from one another. And she didn't really mind the walk at all.

When she reached Izuku's apartment, she gave a quick knock and waited. She tried to be patient as usual, but the anxiety that had been building inside of her was becoming awfully intense as she bounced from one foot to the other. Her fingers slowly turned the envelope around, feeling whatever it was beneath the paper. It was just a moment of time before she found out the answer she had been waiting for.

The door opened and there stood Izuku's short but sweet mother.

"Oh Machiko! It's so good to see you." she greeted with a big grin. "I was just making dinner. You're more than welcome to join us."

Machi felt her heart warm at the sight of Inko Midoryia, standing there with her cooking apron. She was just as nice and caring as Machi's own mother. And Inko had taken Machi in as if she was her own daughter even if it had only been a couple of months since becoming part of Izuku's life.

"Are you sure?" Machi asked with a smile. "I don't want to intrude."

Inko shook her head with a giggle. "Oh honey, you're always welcome here. Come on in."

Machi followed the older woman into the apartment and removed her shoes. "Is Izuku here?"

His mother sighed, turning towards the kitchen. "Oh yes, he's in his room. He's been a little...distracted." She went to the stove to stir whatever she was cooking. "I'm sure you're just as anxious as he is right now. The letter still hasn't come yet and he's been almost in a daze lately." Her head turned towards Machi. "I'm worried about him."

The blunette frowned at her words. "I'm worried too. But I'm sure it'll be okay. Izuku will pull through, he's tough."

His mother managed a weak smile before lifting the spoon out of the pot to taste. "You're right. I keep trying to be optimistic with my son, but...I'm not sure what's going through that boy's head."

Machi's grip tightened around the envelope in her hands. "He definitely marches to his own drum. I'll go see what he's up to."

"Dinner should be ready in about ten or fifteen minutes." Inko called to Machi as the teen descended down the hall.

When Machi stood outside of his bedroom, she knocked gently on the wood. "Izuku? Are you in there? It's Machi."

"Oh! Come in!" she heard him stutter before opening the door.

The second she opened the door, she caught the gaze of every All Might poster and action figure Izuku had around the room. Talk about a real hero admiration. Most people would find it weird and obsessive, but to Machi, she always smiled at the sight. It was slightly strange, but who was she to judge Izuku on who he admired as a hero?

Her friend was sitting at his computer, a miniature barbell in his hand as he curled it in his arm. "Hey."

She smiled gently at her friend. "Hey." she responded before sitting on the bed. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah..." Something in his voice definitely told her otherwise.

"Izuku..." Machi began, her fingers tightening on the envelope again. "I'm sure it'll be okay. It's only been a few weeks and-"

His eyes slowly drifted down to her hands and they widened. "Is that..."

Realizing what he was staring at, Machi quickly hid the envelope behind her back, but Izuku was faster and snatched it from her. He stared at the envelope and gasped loudly. "Machi...its your letter!"

Hesitantly, she nodded, rubbing her now free hands together. "Yeah, I know." she mumbled, her eyes avoiding his gaze. "I...I just received it awhile ago. But...I didn't want to open it without you."

She felt the bed sink as he sat beside her. "Well...I guess we should see what they said..."

"But...you didn't get yours yet." she tried to convince him, frowning slightly. "It wouldn't be fair to-"

Suddenly Izuku's bedroom door burst open and a panting and panicked Inko sat on the floor before them. "Izuku..."

"Mom?" Izuku exclaimed, shooting to his feet. "What is-"

Her hand appeared, thrusting out a letter with the exact insignia on the front. "It's here! The letter!"

Both of the teens stared at his mother as she handed her son the envelope, standing to her feet. "I'll...be outside if you need me." With that, she turned and walked out, closing the door behind her.

Izuku stood there quietly, his hand shaking with anxiety. "I...I..."

"Izuku?" Machi whispered as she stood up as well, placing a hand on his trembling shoulder.

"I-I'm fine..." he stuttered before meeting her gaze. "I just...can't believe it's here..."

"I know..." she mumbled, looking down at her own letter.

They stared at the envelopes for a few minutes until Izuku spoke up.

"Should we...open them together?"

She nodded in response and both of the teens tore them open to find two small devices that had a push button on the top. There was a note attached to the side, that said 'push here to hear your response'.

"What are these?" Machi asked her friend as she examined it.

"Some sort of video device?" Izuku guessed, before meeting her gaze. "I think we just have to push the button and I guess it tells us if we were accepted or not."

There was a brief pause.

"I...I think we should watch yours first." he told Machi, biting on his lower lip.

"Are you sure? Because I know you've been waiting for awhile and-"

"I'm sure, you should go first." But before she could push the button, Izuku spoke up. "But Machi...before you watch it..." he began slowly, his eyes trained on the ground. "Can I ask you something?"

She nodded gently. "Of course."

"Well remember when we first met at the beach..." he holding his device in his hands as they trembled. "You told me that you didn't really want to go to UA. I know it's been awhile since you said that."

The young girl watched as his eyes met hers.

"I...I just want to know..." Then he stopped for a moment. "Do you still want to go?"

As Machi sat down in the computer chair, her mind began to think about what he had asked. Did she want to go to UA? If someone asked her that question several months ago, she would have probably said no almost immediately.

Now...now she wasn't so sure.

Ever since she had met Izuku Midoriya, she could see a slight change in herself. Not only in her demeanor, but also her Quirk. Yes, she still struggled at times. But that day during the exam, she had used her Quirk in ways that she had**_ never_** expected! Izuku helped her when nobody else would. He believed in her and encouraged Machi to keep trying until she was able to use her powers. Nobody had ever done that for her.

It's possible that Recovery Girl was right. Maybe their friendship and care for one another was helping her Quirk develop.

After a few moments of silence, Machi finally spoke up. "Well...I guess it depends..."

His head tilted to the side. "On what?"

A weak smile grew on her lips. "If you get into UA with me."

At this point, neither of them were sure if Izuku would make it or not due to his practical score. "But what if I don't?"

Her hand gently grabbed his own, squeezing it gently. "If that happens...which it won't, then we'll try another school. There's plenty of schools out there for heroes. True, if I got in, I would be attending the greatest school in the world." Then her eyes went to their joined hands. "But...even if we haven't known each other very long...I don't know what I would do if you weren't there to cheer me on when I needed it. I've never met anyone like you, Izuku Midorya. And I don't plan on letting this friendship go just yet."

The green haired boy stared blankly at her before a smile appeared and a few tears rolled down his cheeks. "Machi..."

She felt tears welling up in her eyes as well before she stood and hugged him. "Whatever happens, we'll achieve that dream and become the greatest heroes the world has ever seen."

His arms wound around her torso and hugged her tightly. "Okay, we'll do this together." he told her before he pushed the button on the device, allowing the video to play.

* * *

**That's the end for now. Phew! This chapter took forever! I'm sorry for the wait, but I'm glad to share it with you guys! ****I hope you guys are enjoying this story! Season 4 is going great and I can't wait to see the massive battle with Overhaul! Not to mention, we get to see Kirishima's backstory! Yay! **

**Don't forget to leave a review! I really hope to hear more from you guys about this. I love hearing from everyone! Hope you enjoyed this new chapter! Thank you! ^_^ **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait! Things have been crazy. My sister is getting married in the next month so that means insanity with planning and getting things together. Plus we had Thanksgiving and my birthday was the other day, which I got tons of My Hero stuff! Made my day!**

**This chapter was a lot of fun to write! We finally get to see Class 1A and the other students in person! I have to say, writing the other students was the best part about this chapter! I loved it! I hope you guys enjoy it! Don't forget to leave a review about what you all think! I love hearing them even if it's a tiny review. I love writing this story and sharing it with all of you fellow My Hero fans out there! Season 4 is just getting started and things are about to get crazy and dark! But I'm excited! **

**Enjoy guys! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own My Hero Academia. I only on my OC, Machiko/Machi.**

* * *

_The small device came to life, shining a large holographic picture above their heads. Machi's eyes widened and her mouth dropped when the image of All Might appeared before them._

_"I am here!" he shouted as he stood there in all of his regal glory. He stood in front of a colorful wall, wearing a rather vibrant yellow suit with black pinstripes lining across it. _

_"All Might!" Both Machi and Izuku exclaimed in shock._

_"And this is a projection!" he added before giving a thumbs up at what seemed to be a camera where they were filming this from. "This message is for Machiko Imara! If this is the wrong person, then shut this off right now."_

_There was an awkward pause as All Might stared back at the teens._

_"I...I can't believe it's him..." Machi marveled softly._

_"Y-yeah..." Izuku breathed shakily. "It's really him..." _

_Finally, after several more awkward moments of staring, All Might broke out of that strange stare as he went on. "Anyways, since this must be Machiko I would have to assume that it's okay to continue on with my message!" His massive fist pounded his chest a few times while a cough made its way out of his throat. "Now then, your score."_

_Izuku's hand found Machi's and squeezed it tightly. She quickly glanced down at their joined hands before squeezing it back._

_"The teachers watched over your progress through the exam and they were awfully impressed. Using your weather Quirk to take down those villains during the practical exam! That was quite a show you put on! We were very impressed with your ability to use lightning like that! We can't wait to see what other kinds of weather you can use!"  
_

_"We? What does he mean by 'we'?" Izuku asked out loud. "Was...All Might watching?" _

_Machi gasped in surprise as she watched All Might give a thumbs up to the camera once again. _

_"That's right! 'We' as in the teachers of UA!"_

_"What?" Izuku breathed. _

_"I have accepted a teaching position at UA this year! I will be there to show you young heroes the steps into becoming a Pro!" he announced, opening his arms with flourish. "And I will be there while you start your journey, Machiko Imaru." _

_Machi felt her heart squeeze and nearly stop for a moment. "I...what?"_

_"Welcome to Machiko to UA!" All Might announced loudly._

_Her mouth dropped in shock while Izuku's grip tightened on her hand. _

_"Oh my gosh..." Izuku breathed next to her. _

_"That's right! You received a score of 54 in Villain points!" All Might announced before a screen pulled up behind him and suddenly Machi's image reflected back. She was soaring through the air, firing bolts of lightning at the various targets. "You have scored very high and you even picked up 20 points in the Rescue points!" _

_"Rescue points?" Machi asked in confusion as she stole a quick look at Izuku, who also seemed awfully puzzled. _

_"I...I didn't know that could be...a thing..." _

_Suddenly__ another image appeared on the screen. It was the moment when Machi was pulling Izuku to his feet and rushing away. _

_"You helped young Midoryia and tried to guide him to safety. We always look for that in young heroes and a certain Pro noticed this and praised your efforts." _

_"A Pro? Who was..." Machi began before the screen flashed again and the elderly face of Recovery Girl appeared._

_"That's Recovery Girl!" Izuku gasped, pointing to the hologram. _

_Recovery Girl smiled at the camera. "Miss Machiko was a very sweet and caring young lady who showed strength today. Not only as a hero who could take down a villain, but she is also a hero who takes care of others. Poor Midoryia was injured during the practical exam. Machiko snapped into action and checked his injuries until I was on the scene to do the rest. That young girl refused to leave his side." _

_Another image flashed of Machi sitting next to Izuku's bed while he slept. _

_"Th-that's me." Izuku spoke softly. "Oh...I look terrible." _

_A small smile appeared on Machi's lips for a moment as she shot a glance his way. "Yeah, you did." _

_Izuku let out a short chuckle as they watched Recovery Girl continue. _

_"Machiko seems like a bright young lady who can teach others how to care and stand up for those who are in need. I would really hope to see her walking the halls of UA in the future." _

_All Might came back on screen with his bright grin shining brighter than the yellow suit he wore. "Miss Machiko, you are already beginning to show promise and you have already gotten the support of one Pro hero. I'm sure you will influence others! Don't let us down, Machiko! And welcome to UA!"_

_The hologram ended, leaving Machi and Izuku completely alone. The silence in the room was almost deafening. A pin could drop and it would probably make a sound. _

_"I...Machi...you..." Izuku began, his grip tightening once again. "You did it."_

_Her lips parted for a moment. "I...I did it. I got in..." she breathed, her heart racing a hundred miles an hour. Her knees nearly buckled from under her and every nerve was on end. "I got in..." _

_Suddenly a laugh bubbled in her chest. "I did it!" she cheered before pulling Izuku in for a tight hug. "I did it!" _

_Izuku hugged her back, laughing as well. "You did it, Machi! You got into UA!"_

_Machi's skin suddenly began to glow brighter than the sun, making her friend back off, covering his eyes. "Wow! What's that? You're glowing, Machi!" Every inch of her body glowed a bright yellow and her hair was now a vibrant sky blue color. Even her dark grayish eyes were now sterling silver. It was unlike anything Izuku ever saw. It was amazing! _

_Her eyes drifted over her arms and back up to look at Izuku. "Oh! I...I haven't done this in a long time." she told him, rubbing her arms gently. "I...I start glowing like the sun whenever I'm...I'm..." _

_"Happy?" Izuku chuckled with a matching grin. "I've never seen you do that before, Machi. You look...spectacular!" _

_Her cheeks warmed at his compliment. "S-spectacular?" _

_His eyes searched over her figure as he quickly pulled out his notebook and began writing frantically. "How is it that you're able to glow? Is it sweat? Or perhaps it's something to do with your endorphins! Yeah, the endorphins match up with the sun like an energy!"_

_Blinking at his theory, Machi started laughing, holding onto her stomach. "Izuku!" _

_Almost abruptly, he stopped writing and blushed. "Oh! I uh...sorry." he apologized, lowering the notebook. "I got a little excited there." _

_When her laughter subsided, her glow began to dim. It sadly was gone, but Machi was still smiling brightly just like before. It was a sight that Izuku wasn't used to seeing all the time. But whatever it was, he really liked seeing this. _

_Running a hand through her hair, she glanced back at the hologram. "I just...I can't believe I was accepted." She walked over and picked it up as she turned to see Izuku watching. "I never imagined it would happen. And...it's all thanks to you, Izuku." _

_His eyes widened and he began panicking, waving his hands back and forth. "Wh-what?! Oh! I-I didn't do that! I just...I helped the best of my ability! It's no big deal!" _

_Machi moved closer and patted his shoulder. "You helped me achieve a goal, Izuku Midoryia. Thanks to you, I'm going to UA." _

_But instead of a smile, Izuku had a frown on his lips. His shoulders sagged while his eyes avoided her own. _

_"Izuku..." Machi began before realization hit her. What was she doing?! How could she celebrate this victory when Izuku didn't even know if he was accepted or not. "Oh Izuku, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to brag at all." _

_Lifting his head, Izuku shook it gently. "It's okay, Machi. I'm not upset with you just because you're happy about this. I just-"_

_Waving her hand in front of him, she shook her head as well. "I know, I know. But..." she trailed off as her eyes went to the device. "But...remember what All Might said. He said that there were rescue points. Maybe you managed to get some for saving that girl!" _

_Izuku's head jerked up immediately and his eyes widened with shock. "You...you think so?" _

_Her hand reached out to touch his own that still held his own device. "I don't know for sure, but there's only one way to find out." _

_With that being said, Izuku lifted it up between them. _

_She gave him a reassuring smile. "It'll be okay. I'm right here with you." _

_The left side of his mouth quirked up slightly. "O-okay. I-I'm ready." _

_He pushed the button, waiting for All Might to show up once again with the burning answer that would decide Izuku's fate. _

* * *

Machi stood outside of the gates of UA, wringing her hands together nervously as she paced back and forth. "I can do this. I can do this. You can do this. You hear me, you can do this." she told herself sternly. Pep talks were rough, but anything would help at this point.

"Machi?" Izuku asked as he stood next to her. "Are you okay?"

She blinked a few times before turning to her friend, who also stood by the gates, right by her side. "Huh? Oh...um...yeah. Yeah, I think so. Think I'm just nervous..." she mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck. "I just...I can't believe it. But somehow...I just don't know if I deserve all of this. After all, I don't even remember much of what I did."

He smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You deserve this, Machi. You trained just as hard as I did. You heard All Might the other day. You're destined to be a hero."

Smiling weakly, she brushed her hair away from her face. "You sure?"

A big white toothy grin appeared on his face. "Of course! Just wait until you get to train with the big names out there! I'm sure they can help your Quirk expand!"

"That is true. Maybe they'll help you with your Quirk as well." she responded with a smile as she saw her friend wearing an identical uniform from her own.

When he began walking to the entrance, he stole a glance over his shoulder. "Oh, that reminds me. Uh...we can still keep training if you want. I mean, I know we don't have to worry about the exam anymore, but it doesn't hurt to keep going." Then he stopped for a moment, his smile faltering. "Unless...you want to stop training with me. Because if you do, it's okay..."

Machi smiled before moving closer to her friend and sliding an arm over his shoulders to give him a side hug. "Aww Izuku, of course I still want to train with you. You're the best mentor I've ever had."

A small amount of pink flushed around his cheeks. "R-really?"

She couldn't help but giggle at him. He was so adorable when he was like this.

"Of course. You've been such a big help to me and I would hate to see it end just because we achieved the first step in becoming heroes. We'll keep training and trying our best to reach that point, okay?"

His mouth opened and closed a few times. "I...uh...well...yeah. O-okay."

Grinning widely, she quickly hugged Izuku, making him yelp. "Thank you!"

But just when they pulled away from their hug, Machi's cellphone began to ring.

"Who's that?" Izuku asked as she glanced down at the screen.

Machi gasped when she spied the familiar name flash on the screen along with a photo of an older girl with short blue hair. "Oh! I've gotta take this. Don't go in without me, okay?"

"Okay, just don't take too long. Class starts soon." he told her before moving away so she could answer it.

Machi shot a smile his way before hitting the green button on her phone and lifted it to her ear. "So what do I owe the pleasure of speaking to a famous hero?" she began with a teasing grin.

"Oh shut it, I'm not that famous." a female voice spoke on the other side with a laugh. "I'm still learning as I go."

Machi couldn't help but let the biggest grin on her face show at the familiar tone. "Either way, you're in America, learning from the best over there."

"That's true, but I'd rather be home with Mom and Dad."

"Hey, what about me?" Machi protested. "Your adorable and amazing sister."

"My sister? I don't recall having one. However, I do remember someone living in_** my**_ room, stealing all of _**my**_ comic books as a kid. And if my memory serves me right, I believe she also electrocuted my favorite lamp when we got into a fight over...what was it again? A hair clip."

The blunette sighed, leaning against the wall. "Come on Tomi, I apologized about a hundred times. It was my favorite hair clip. Besides, that was like...what...ten years ago."

A dramatic sigh echoed in Machi's ear. "Fiiiiiiiine. But you still owe me, got it?"

"Yeah yeah, I know."

Machi's older sister was the only person the young blunette could really talk to. She was only a few years older, but that didn't mean that she looked down on her sister. In fact, Tomi was the only one who really believed in Machi. She was always the one Machi could go to if she was depressed or having problems with her Quirk. Tomi was the one person who understood what she was going through. If it wasn't for the fact that Tomi received a an internship to study abroad in America, she would have helped Machi with her Quirk.

"So what's this I heard through the grapevine that you received an acceptance letter to UA? _**My**_ Alma Mater? Did you think that I wouldn't find out?"

Machi tugged on her hair a little. "Oh...yeah...I uh...I was going to tell you."

"Oh right, sure you were." Tomi replied sarcastically. "Had to find out from Mom the other day."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry, Tomi. I wanted to tell you...I just felt like I was bothering you. I mean, I saw you on the news saving a bus full of kids."

Tomi scoffed on the other line. "Oh that? I just happened to be in the neighborhood. Besides, I would have answered a call from you. I miss you."

Giggling, Machi looked up at the clock that hung outside of the school to see that class would begin in less than fifteen minutes. "I miss you too, Sis. But hey, can I call you after I'm done with class? I'm about to start my first day of class in a few minutes."

"Oh! Oh yeah go ahead. But you're not getting out of this conversation. I want details later!"

"Okay okay. I'll call you tonight. Love you, Tomi."

Her sister chuckled on the other side. "Yeah yeah, love you too, Machi. Have a great first day! And don't forget to try your best!"

"I will. Take lots of pictures for me while you're in America. I still want that Statue of Liberty figurine you promised me."

Machi could imagine Tomi shaking her head. "Yeah yeah. Can do. Later!"

"See ya." Machi told her before hanging up.

Izuku saw that she was done and rejoined her. "Hey, is everything okay?" he asked, pulling his backpack further up his shoulders.

"Oh yeah." she replied, sliding the phone into her skirt pocket. Thankfully the uniforms had pockets in their skirts. "Just family checking in."

"Ahh. Well, are you ready?" he asked her, a wide grin appearing on his face.

She grinned back before moving to stand in front of him. "Yeah, I'm ready. Remember, this is just one small step to becoming a Pro Hero."

He grinned brightly as they walked through the main gates together, ready to take on their bright future.

* * *

About five minutes later, the bell rang while Izuku and Machi were practically running through the halls of the school, frantically searching for their classroom.

"Let's try this hall!" Izuku called over his shoulder.

"Didn't we try this one already?" Machi panted, feeling sweat beginning to soak through her brand new uniform. "I feel like we've been here. Didn't we just pass the drinking fountain before? You know, the one with the dent in the side?" she asked, pointing to the massive dent exactly where she had said.

Pursing his lips, Izuku stared at it before shaking his head. "I...I don't know. Maybe all of them have a dent? We've been walking forever...and we still don't know where Class 1A is..."

"Can't we just ask someone for directions?" She dreaded the thought of having to ask someone and disturb their day. She hated bothering someone. Especially here. Last thing she wanted was to seem weak and helpless in the greatest hero school on the first day. First impressions meant everything.

Izuku slowed to a stop, running a hand through his messy hair. "I mean...we could. But..." he trailed off as he glanced down both sides of the empty hallway. "I don't know if anyone will help us..." Most of the teachers and students were probably in class by now. True, the final bell wasn't for five more minutes, but this was UA. Maybe they started class early.

Machi frowned at her friend, dropping her arms. "Then...I don't know what to do. Ugh...we're going to be late..." she groaned, gripping the ends of her hair.

Izuku was right there in front of her, quickly grabbing her hands and gently pulled them away from her head. "Hey hey, it's going to be okay. Don't worry. If you keep doing that...it'll start raining."

She panted softly, realizing what she was about to do and shook her head. "You're right. Thanks Izuku. I just don't know what to do."

"Well, let's check around this corner one more time and if we're wrong, we'll just go to the office and ask for directions."

A dry laugh escaped her lips. "Sure, if we can find it."

Izuku smiled as they rushed off the hall as fast as they could speed walk.

"Come on. 1A. That's all we need. 1A." he murmured as he watched the door numbers pass by.

Suddenly he stopped and gasped loudly. "Here it is!" he announced as Machi came up beside him.

Before them stood a large door that was so tall that it reached the ceiling. Bold red letters and numbers showed that this indeed was where they needed to be.

"Man this thing is huge! Are there giants here?" Izuku awed at the massive door before them.

"Well...it is for heroes so I'm sure there has to be at least one student with a growth Quirk...maybe..." Machi suggested before cringing slightly. 'Wow...could that sound any weirder...'

"Well it's possible. I mean Mount Lady could have attended here." Then he chuckled softly. "Good thinking there, Machi."

She smiled back at her friend as she scratched the back of her head.

Izuku then straightened himself and pulled on the straps of his backpack. "The most promising students in the country must be behind this door." Then he paled for a moment. "Oh...what if it's people like that guy from the exam or...Kacchan?"

Machi frowned, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Maybe that won't be the case. I mean, we scored pretty high on the exam. Maybe we were better than those guys." she assured him with a grin.

Matching her smile, Izuku nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Maybe we're in different classes. Maybe everyone in here is really nice."

When they reached for the doorknob and slowly opened it, they were met with a yelling match that began echoing down the hallway.

"Take your feet off of that desk now!" a familiar dark haired student yelled, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Huh?" the spiky blonde haired boy sarcastically remarked, still keeping his dirty shoes on the desk top.

Both Izuku and Machi's stomachs dropped at the sight of the two bullies from the entrance exam. The arrogant and smart guy with the engine legs and Izuku's childhood friend, Katsuki Bakugou.

"It's the first day and you're already disrespecting this academy by scuffing school property, you cretin! Remove your foot from that desk! Such an action is insulting to those who came to UA before us as well as the craftsmen who made the desk!"

Bakugou raised a brow, but still never moved, even when he scoffed. "You're kidding me right? Your old school put a stick up your ass or are you just born with it?"

The comment from Izuku's old classmate had several students turning heads towards them while Machi and Izuku stood there awkwardly in the doorway.

'What the heck is wrong with that guy?' Machi thought to herself, slightly scared to approach.

The dark haired student took a deep breath, pushing his glasses back up his nose once again. "Let's start over, I'm Tenya Iida from Somei Private Academy."

That apparently had made the blonde burst out laughing for a moment. "Somei, huh? So you must think you're better than me! I'm gonna have fun tearing you a new one."

Iida gasped dramatically. "You would threaten me? Your own classmate? Are you sure you're in the right place?!"

When the blonde didn't respond, Izuku let out a yelp and then awkwardly let out a squeaky 'hi'. Several students in their seats turned their attention to the door, making both teens tense up. So many eyes on them.

Iida then noticed them and walked away from the blonde, his arms moving robotic-like with each movement. "Good morning! My name is Tenya Iida. I'm from Somei Private Academy..."

"I heard you before." Izuku began, rubbing his arm. "Ah...I'm Izuku Midoriya. It's super nice to meet you." From the way he greeted Iida, anyone could tell that he was attempting to be friendly, but at the same time was almost uncomfortable with greeting this student.

Iida stopped abruptly and leaned down so he was merely inches from Izuku's face. "Midoriya...you perceived the true nature of that practical exam? You must be very perceptive! I completely misjudged you! I hate to admit it, but you were the superior candidate!"

Izuku blinked a few times at the taller student and shook his head. "I didn't perceive anything and I find that very hard to believe..."

Iida then turned to Machi, who frowned the instant he glanced her way. "Oh. The lightning girl from the exam." he began, placing a hand on his chest as if he was regal. "I'm Tenya Iida and-"

"Not interested." Machi shot back, marching past him to find a vacant desk. The last thing she wanted was to fire up again like she did during the practical exam. And seeing that guy again was the last thing she wanted to deal with today. As if this school wasn't intimidating enough.

Bakugou, still with his feet on the desk, glared at Machi, making her shrink slightly. "Hey." he growled, making her stop directly in front of him. "You're that girl who shot down the first target, right? During the exam?"

Her anger seemed to disappear and a slight amount of fear filled her soul. "Uh...yes."

Humphing at her response, he rolled his eyes. "Just because you think you're such a showoff at the exam, doesn't mean that you're the best around here. That's _**my**_ job. I'm the best and I'm not going to lose to some chick with powers like that."

The way he said that made a shiver run down Machi's spine.

"O-oh...hi Kacchan." Izuku's timid voice spoke from off to the side. "Good to see you...heh..."

"Shut up and get lost, Deku!" he growled at Izuku, making her friend shrink back.

_**Who was this guy and what was his deal?**_

"Hey! I recognize that messed up hair! Falling Boy!" a familiar female voice spoke up, making Machi and and Izuku turn to see Uraraka standing there in the doorway. "I'm not surprised to see you here!" Then she began punching the air. "That punch you did during the exam was amazing!"

A deep pinkish hue appeared on Izuku's cheeks. "Oh! Uh hi again. Oh my gosh. So I should be thanking you for going in and talking to them." he stuttered, his voice growing in pitch.

"Huh? How did you know about that?" she began before she gasped and began waving wildly. "And it's you again as well! Weather girl! Machiko Imaru, right?"

Machi felt a small grin tug at her lips as she shyly waved back. "Hi again."

Ururaka stopped waving and began bouncing on her heels. "So what do you think we're going to be doing today? Besides orientation. I wonder what our teachers will be like. I can't wait to meet everybody!"

"If you're just here to make friends then you can pack up your stuff now." a tired voice spoke, breaking through her excitement.

Everyone froze and turned towards the door to see what appeared to be a yellow lump laying outside. Was that a sleeping bag? There was a mop of dark shaggy hair located at the top along with a very scruffy face.

'Is that a person?' Machi cringed as she watched individual lift a juice box to his mouth to suck on the straw.

Once he was done, the sleeping bag stood up and the man pulled the zipper down. "Welcome to UA's hero course." the man grumbled as he pulled the sleeping bag off of his body, leaving him in a ratty black uniform with grey bandages hanging around his neck like a scarf. "It took 8 seconds before you all shut up. That's not gonna work. Time is precious. Rational students would understand."

"Who is this guy?" Izuku whispered to Machi, who was still staring at the man.

"Hello, I'm Shota Aizawa. Your teacher." the man grumbled as he reached into the sleeping bag that hung on his arm. He pulled out a blue uniform with white and red stripes and held it up for the whole class to see. "Right, let's get to it. Put these on and let's head outside."

* * *

About an hour passed and Machi was sitting against the wall, gasping for air as she chugged down a bottle of water. They had just gone through several training drills and it was closing in on the end of class. And nobody was ready for class to end. That's when Aizawa was going to expel the student with the lowest score.

Her stomach churned at the thought. _**Expelled? On the first day?!**_ This was completely insane!

She didn't do so well in the running challenge. What exactly could she do with her Quirk? True, she could volt herself into the air like she did during the entrance exam, but having all of those eyes on herself frightened her and she ended up running with heat coursing through her body. Great...embarrassed on the first day. Not a great start.

And Izuku...he wasn't doing too well either. Since he was afraid of using his Quirk again, he didn't use it when he had to run. Both of their scores weren't looking so great compared to others.

Oh gosh...what if they both were expelled? All of that training and studying...gone in a flash. Just because they couldn't use their Quirks like normal.

"Hey Imara. Good to see you again." a familiar voice spoke, alerting Machi from her thoughts.

When she looked up, she found herself staring into they eyes of the spiky red haired student. "Oh Kirishima! Hi."

He grinned widely, showing off his shark-like teeth. "It's good to see ya again. I can't believe we both made it in and we're in the same class."

"Yeah, small world, right?" she responded with a smile.

His head turned to the side to see some students talking with one another. "Yeah, I can't believe we actually made it this far." Then his gaze went back to hers. "Sucks that Aizawa is doing this to us, but I guess he wants to see who is the strongest. I mean, UA is a top school and all."

"Yeah...maybe..." she mumbled before taking another sip of water.

There was a silent moment between them before Kirishima crouched down in front of her. "By the way, I never got the chance to talk to you after the exam that day. But...I saw what you did. And I have to say...what you did with the lightning...that was amazing!"

Her lips parted in surprise as she stared back at the excited boy before her. "Really?"

"Yeah! You totally went in there and just..." His fist shot out, punching the air swiftly. "Boom!"

The punch obviously didn't hit her, but Machi still backed up to the wall and a small squeak escaped her lips. Wow, this guy was excited.

"I've never seen anything like that before!" Then he glanced over his shoulder to see Bakugou firing his explosions to do the line jump challenge. "Well...besides old Bakugou over there. Imagine what the two of you would be like in the real world."

Machi's expression fell the second she imagined working with Izuku's childhood bully, who had extreme anger issues and arrogance. "Uhh...I don't know about that..."

"Well...maybe after he's calmed down a little." Kirishima chuckled. "But still...you've got a pretty awesome Quirk. Is it just lightning?"

Machi scratched the back of her head, her fingers tangling in her long blue hair. "Well...it's actually a weather Quirk."

His eyebrows rose halfway up his forehead. "A weather Quirk? That's wicked!" he exclaimed. "What other things can you do besides lightning?"

"Kirishima! You're up!" Aizawa barked on the other side of the training field. "This isn't time to socialize!"

"Oh! Sorry Sensei!" Kirishima called to his teacher before standing up straight. "Sorry about this, but we'll have to talk about your Quirk later! Good seeing ya again, Imaru!"

"Uh...it's actually Machi." she told him quickly before he could get away.

"What?"

"You can call me Machi. It's what my friends call me...sometimes."

Grinning widely at her, Kirishima nodded. "Alright Machi, I'll catch ya later! Since we're friends and all!" With a final wave, he rushed back to the lines to show their teacher what he could do.

Machi remained in her spot as a small smile on her lips. Friends, huh? "Maybe the students here are nice..." she whispered to herself. "Maybe I'm just overthinking all of this. After all, it's a new school and nobody seems to think like the students at my old school..."

"Hey Machi." Izuku greeted as he slowly made his way over and sat down next to her.

"Hey, how are you doing?" she asked as he took a drink from his water bottle. "Are you okay?"

Frowning, Izuku shook his head slowly. "Not really. I'm doing terrible with all of these drills. If I use All-For..." he stopped himself for a moment and coughed. "My Quirk, I might break something again and then I would be out for the rest of class. I wouldn't be able to participate and then..." Izuku trailed off with a frown.

Machi placed a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay. You'll think of something."

They sat there, watching the other students participate before Machi spoke up.

"How come you never used your Quirk when we trained together?"

Izuku's cheeks turned slightly pink as he began stuttering. "I...uh...well...it's kind of complicated..."

It wasn't that Machi was upset that he never told her, but she couldn't help but feel a little left out that he never told her. After all, she trusted him with helping her train and he seemed to trust her. So why not tell her about his mysterious Quirk?

"I mean, I'm not sure how to describe it." he responded, scratching his head. "I just...I can't use it all the time."

Her fingers curled around the bottle, making the plastic crack. "Oh...I guess that makes sense. You'd be breaking your body every day."

"Y-yeah...I guess so."

Taking another drink from her bottle, she turned her head to see Izuku staring off. "Well...I'm sure you'll think of some way to use it. You're awfully smart, Izuku."

He blushed again, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm not that smart."

There was a growl off to the side, making Machi turn to see Bakugou standing there, clenching his fists. His dark red eyes seemed to pierce through her, making shivers run down her spine. What was wrong with this guy?

"What are you looking at?!" he growled, making Machi jump at the sound of his gruff voice. Shooting another hard glare their way, he stormed off to try at the line jumping test. "Stupid Deku and that wannabe hero chick..."

Biting her lower lip, Machi shifted her gaze to her friend. "What is that guy's problem? Seriously."

Izuku sighed, resting his head against the wall. "That's just the way Kacchan has always been."

"Really? And why do you keep calling him Kacchan? I don't get it. He treats you horribly and bullies you. I wouldn't want anything to do with him, honestly."

He shrugged in response. "I...it's complicated..."

She watched his expression to see if he'd go on, but he just took another sip of water and left it at that. When there was nothing to say, she lifted her hand, glancing at her fingers. Why wasn't she able to shoot lightning from her hands again? For the last few weeks, she had tried to shoot them from her body again like before. It didn't make sense. She had tried to get angry so many times like before, but nothing came. Well...actually it ended with random lightning bolts shooting the beach, burning different parts of the sand.

"Are you okay?" Izuku asked, breaking Machi from her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh...yeah..." she mumbled, lowering her hand. "I was just thinking..."

"About what you're going to do?"

Frowning, she nodded, rubbing her fingers together. "I just don't know how. I mean you saw what I did back there. I was able to shoot bolts of lightning from my hands. I've tried to recreate it again, but every time I do it...nothing happens." It was getting awfully frustrating at this point.

"Well...maybe you're thinking too hard."

A small giggle vibrated through her chest. "That's normal, Izuku. You know I'm always thinking."

He smiled back before taking another drink, one that left water dripping down the sides of his lips. "True, but maybe you're thinking about getting angry. You're not feeling it."

Deadpanned, she stared at her friend. "I...don't get it."

Straitening himself up, he turned to her. "When you first used your Quirk like that, what happened?"

She shrugged in response. "I don't really remember much. Just...I got angry when I saw that guy, Iida, harassing you about bothering Ururaka."

"That's it then. You got angry when you saw something happening and then when you went to confront Iida, you suddenly turned into a lightning rod. You need to let that anger course through your body. Then put it to use when you need to let it out. Like a balloon."

She sat there, her mind going over his words slowly.

"Honestly, it was the coolest thing I've seen you do so far." he added with a grin.

Machi glanced away, her cheeks warming at his compliment. "I'm not _**that**_ cool. You're much cooler than I am."

"Oh I wouldn't say that." he laughed before resting a hand on her shoulder. "But either way, if you feel the anger inside of you instead of just thinking about it, I'm sure you could produce a little bit of lightning."

Blinking a couple of times, the gears in her head began to rotate. Huh, it could possibly work.

"Imara!" Aizawa yelled, catching Machi's attention immediately. "You're up! Don't keep us waiting all day! We have things to do!"

Both teens squeaked at his tone.

"He's awfully frightening, isn't he?" Izuku whimpered.

Giggling after the shock wore off, Machi stood to her feet. "Yeah, wonder what he's like when we're actually like in the classroom."

Izuku gave her a half smile as she began making her way over to their teacher. "You've got this!"

* * *

**Sadly that's the end for now. There will be more soon! Hopefully I'll get another chapter out soon! I had a lot of fun writing the classroom interactions! I love the various personalities and the different students within Class 1A. I can't wait to write more of them in the future! Things are really coming along! **

**Thank you guys for reading and I hope to have the next chapter done soon! Let me know what you guys think of this story! I always enjoy hearing your thoughts and it definitely makes my day! Hope you guys have a great day! And don't forget...go beyond! Plus Ultra! ^_^ **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! Hope things have been well for you this crazy holiday season! I know it has been on my end. Anyways, I'm excited to share the next chapter with you! Once again, this was fun! I love writing interactions with the students of UA! It's fun! **

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed and added me! You guys made me beyond happy to read the messages that filled my inbox! You guys are the best! Don't be shy to leave a comment! I love hearing what you guys think of the latest chapter or the story overall. **

**ALSO QUESTION TIME! I want to pose another question for you guys because why not! Who is your My Hero crush? Pretty sure most of you have at least one. My personal pick is between Kirishima, Present Mic, and Hawks. It's hard to pick just one! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own My Hero Academia. I only on my OC, Machiko/Machi.**

* * *

Machi tensed up and could feel her body heating up as everyone in class 1A stared at her. There she stood, in the small ring where everyone was to participate in the ball throw, frozen with fear.

She had been standing there for a minute or two, contemplating on what to do. Of course she could just throw it and get things over with. However, after watching Uraraka throw the ball so far into space that it was deemed infinity and Bakukou was able to get the second highest score in the entire class...yeah, how was she supposed to compete with that?

At this point, all she could really feel was anxiousness. What was that good for? Heating up at the ball throw? Or frustrating herself to the point of making it rain on herself?

Her thoughts drifted back to what Izuku said earlier. Was she thinking too hard? Of course it would be normal to think too hard. Especially since her emotions were connected to her Quirk. It was...important to do this! But...was it really making her-

"Any day now, Imara. We don't have all day and there's only another ten minutes left of class." Mr. Aizawa grumbled off to the side, breaking Machi from her thoughts.

As Machi turned to face her teacher, she could see every one of her classmate's eyes on her, silently judging her as she stood there. Trembling with fear while her body began to heat up.

"Her face is red." one of the male students spoke up from the back.

Her cheeks warmed even more, making steam practically coming off her skin.

"Whoa...steam too." another student remarked, causing Machi to whip her head back to the field.

"That's enough." Mr. Aizawa barked, making the students fall back in line. Was the whole class watching at this point?! Before she went, most of the students were just casually talking to one another or practicing their Quirks on their own.

Machi dared to sneak a look over at the class. There were so many eyes. Especially the one student with massive arms that seemed to have extra eyes on them.

_**'Seriously?! Who are some of these students?'**_ she mentally exclaimed.

As she searched the crowd, she spied Uraraka smiling brightly at her and Kirishima grinning as well with a large sharp toothed grin. At least she had two students who seemed to be silently cheering her on.

However, students like Bakugou and Iida were shooting her different looks. Naturally, Bakugou was giving the nastiest glare, silently judging her. Meanwhile, Iida observed, his brows furrowed as if he was trying to calculate her moves.

As for the rest of the class, they just stared at her, waiting to see what she would do.

When her eyes located her friend's, Izuku gave her a hesitant smile and then gave her a thumbs up.

His words seemed to echo in her ear.**_ 'Maybe you're thinking about getting angry. You're not feeling it. If you feel the anger inside of you instead of just thinking about it, I'm sure you could produce a little bit of lightning.'_**

Mr. Aizawa cleared his throat again, tapping his foot, making Machi blush in embarrassment when she caught his bloodshot gaze.

"S-sorry..." she mumbled before turning her head back to the field.

There was a deep snort from behind her. "Typical. All show when the occasion calls for it. Bet she can't really do it. She's probably just some fake hero who likes to show off." Bakugou sneered.

Machi's heart sunk when she heard the hothead's comment. Dread began filling her chest as she stood silently, eyes staring at her back, a very aggravated teacher who was ready to fail her, and a fellow student who already made things crystal clear that he didn't like her.

"Heh, maybe she should just give up and resign from this class. Leave the better students to lead the way. Like me."

"L-leave her alone, Kaachan." Izuku hesitantly spoke up.

"Oh? And what are you gonna do about it, Deku?" Bakugou growled back at him.

"That's enough you two." Mr. Aizawa sternly warned them. "Or should I just expel the two of you instead of just one student?"

That got everyone to quiet down instantly.

Then her teacher turned her way. "Last chance, Imara. Either throw it or walk away. Your choice. But know that if you walk away right now, you are making my job easier by showing the students who is here to waste my time. Those kinds of students who give up aren't really heroes after all."

Machi gulped while her heart clenched at his words. She wasn't trying to waste anyone's time. Especially not anyone at UA.

Some of the students seemed to pale at his words. Clearly, it didn't seem like any of them wanted to waste his time either.

Turning away, she tried to take a few deep breaths like Izuku had told her to do. However, her nerves still seemed like they were on edge and her exhales were very shaky.

Anger, fear, frustration, sadness, anxiety...it was almost too much. All those feelings...swirling inside of her, it was a shock that she wasn't losing control just yet.

'Breathe...breathe...just breathe...' she told herself. 'Try and focus one emotion. Come on, just do it like last time. Focus some lightning into your hand. It's not too hard."

"That Quirk shouldn't belong to someone like her." Bakugou's voice cut through her thoughts like a sharp blade.

Suddenly the weight on her shoulders vanished instantly.

Past thoughts and insults filled her mind with doubt just like before.

_**'Seriously? You get a Quirk like that and you can't control it? Pathetic!'**_

_**'You can't hang out with us. We don't hang out with people who can't control their Quirks.'**_

_**'Stay away from her, she'll electrocute you!'**_

Tears began welling up in Machi's eyes. He was acting just like the rest of her classmates. He believed that she was a failure, just like the other students in her class thought. Another student who didn't deserve to keep her Quirk.

"You've got this Machi!" Izuku yelled out, making her turn to glance over her shoulder. "Don't listen to him! You can't give up now!"

He gave her a thumbs up before cowering when Aizawa gave him a dirty look.

Machi's fingers tightened around the ball while a weak smile appeared on her lips. Turning back to the field, she took another deep breath. **_'He's right. I can't give up now. I made it this far, I just have to keep trying.'_**

Closing her eyes, she concentrated on that anger she had building up inside. _**'Focus that energy into the ball. Let the anger flow through you.'**_

Lightning bolts began forming around her hands, making some of the class gasp in surprise.

With a loud yell, Machi threw the ball, feeling lightning electrify beneath her fingertips. The bolt of lightning pushed the ball farther into the air until it disappeared for a few moments before it came crashing down on the ground several yards away.

"706.1 Meters!" the automated voice yelled out.

A few students gasped at the results while a loud growl rumbled from Bakugou.

The blunette felt her heart skip a beat. 706.1 meters? That was over a meter more than what Bakugou had for a score! She...she beat his score? Of course it was never going to beat Uraraka's score, which was impossible. But either way, she still now had the second highest score in the entire class!

Machi turned to see Mr. Aizawa nodding his head. "Not bad there, Imara."

Blinking in surprise, she dropped her arms and managed a small smile. "Oh...I...thank-"

Then he moved closer, leaning down so she could see every bloodshot vein in his eyes. "Next time, don't hesitate. Hesitating leads to disaster and death." His voice sounded ominous, enough to send shivers down her spine. "And when that happens, either someone's death will be on your hands...or your own demise, is that clear?"

A lump appeared in Machi's throat as she tried to swallow, her smile long gone. "C-crystal, Sir."

Moving away, Aizawa turned to the class. "This is a perfect lesson in being a hero! Never hesitate when the occasion calls for it! If you hesitate, that means that you're putting someone else's life in danger. Hesitating means that you're not willing to put any effort into saving someone or defeating a villain. Hesitating means that you're not confident enough to fight back." Taking a few steps towards the students, he placed his hands behind his back. "In my class, hesitation earns failure in my class. Do you understand me?"

A few students mumbled a few answers, too afraid to speak.

"I said do you understand me?" Aizawa sternly asked, his voice sending shivers down everyone's spines.

"Yes Sir!" almost every student responded with fear in their voices.

Aizawa relaxed before turning his head back to Machi. "Back in line, Imara."

"Yes Mr. Aizawa!" she stuttered before scurrying back to where the other students stood.

Their teacher leaned his head back and held up a small bottle, where he began dribbling some liquid into his eyes. Were those eye-drops?

"Midoriya!" he called, making Izuku jump. "You're up!"

Izuku whimpered before slowly moving forward. "Y-yes, Sir."

"Good luck, Izuku." Machi whispered to him, earning a quick half smile from her friend.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, and one agonizing reveal later, Machi was now in the girls locker room with the other students from her class. At least she could now relax.

After Izuku had attempted to throw the ball with his strength, he was suddenly stopped and his Quirk had been erased for a few minutes. At that time, the entire class had discovered that their teacher was not just any hero, but the Erasure Hero, Eraserhead. The hero that never enjoyed being in the spotlight. Apparently, he went and became a teacher at UA.

Whenever he released Izuku, her friend had gone and managed to throw the ball so far that he had beat Bakugou with only 0.1 meters. That alone had infuriated Bakugou. Not only did three students beat his score, but it probably was the fact that two of those students were ones that he seemed to hate the most. Shocking, right?

Overall, besides Machi and Izuku's score, and finding out that their teacher was the mysterious hero, Eraserhead, the biggest shock factor was when Mr. Aizawa revealed that nobody was actually getting expelled for the lowest score. He had done it to test their skills and to see who was really there to attend UA. Regardless, it was definitely a cruel scare tactic.

Now that the stress test was over, Mr. Aizawa dismissed them to the locker rooms to change and wash off any sweat or grime before heading off to their next class.

Machi changed back into her school uniform far away from the other girls, who were all talking and giggling over the test.

On one hand, she wanted to avoid the other girls and just go on with her day. However, there was a small part of her that told her to try and greet her new classmates that were probably going to be with her for the next few years of her hero career.

Glancing over her shoulder, she could see them all smiling and laughing at the girl with hot pink skin, who was now dancing around the room. None of the girls had attended Machi's middle school before. Maybe they would be nice to her.

But when she almost took a step forward, she felt hesitance creeping up her spine._** 'What if they think I'm weird? What if they think I'm a loser because of my hesitance during Mr. Aizawa's test today? Or what about-'**_

"Hey! Awesome job today!" a familiar voice spoke, breaking Machi out of her thoughts.

Machi turned to see Uraraka standing next to her, completely dressed in her school uniform. "Oh...uh...thanks."

Uraraka smiled brightly before punching the air. "Yeah, you really knocked that one out of the park today!"

"Well...I didn't intend it to go that far. Besides, you managed to throw the ball into...well...space probably."

She giggled before rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah, I didn't expect that either. But hey, maybe it'll come back eventually. Either that or it's sailing off into space right now."

"Yeah..." Machi spoke softly as she packed up her running suit and put it into the locker for later. "Well...I...guess I'd better-"

"Hey, why don't we go over and introduce ourselves to the other girls. It would be better this way to introduce ourselves."

Machi's eyes widened at her excitement. "Uh...I should...I'm not sure I should..."

"Aw come on, just really quick." she pleaded with big brown eyes that Machi couldn't help but stare back into. Such cute doe eyes!

"Well...I mean...I guess it wouldn't hurt to..."

"Great!" she squealed before grabbing Machi's arm and pulling her over to the group of girls who were still getting changed. "Hi there! I hope I'm not interrupting or anything. I just wanted to come over with my friend here and introduce ourselves. My name is Ochako Uraraka!"

The girl who was pulling her dark black hair up into a high ponytail gave them a smile. "Oh, it's no problem at all. I'm Momo Yaoyorozu. Nice to meet you two."

"Heya!" the girl with pink skin and dark eyes greeted with a wide grin. "Name's Mina Ashido! I'm so glad to meet the girl who managed to throw the ball into space! You were so awesome out there!"

"Oh that was nothing." Uraraka giggled as her cheeks flushed a light pink, dropping Machi's arm.

"And you're that girl who did the thing with the lightning." a girl with very short dark purplish hair spoke as she came out from behind a set of lockers, placing a pair of headphones over her ears.

Machi's lips parted as she tried to find a way to respond. "Oh...yeah."

A small smile appeared on the girl's lips. "Nice job. You'll probably give Kaminari a run for his money. Name's Kyouka Jirou."

"Uh...Machiko Imrara." she greeted, rubbing her arms gently. "Nice to meet you as well."

"So Machiko, I heard that you can do a lot more than just lightning. What else can you do?" another voice asked behind them.

The girls turned and Machi jumped when she saw a pair of floating clothes in front of her. Were those clothes moving?!

"Ah! I...uh..." Machi squeaked, moving back slightly.

"Oh! Sorry about that!" the clothes giggled as the sleeves moved up and down. "My Quirk is invisibility! Also my name is Toru Hagakure**!** So spill! I want to know what other things your Quirk can do."

The other girls seemed to be very adamant on finding out the answer as they all leaned in asking for Machi to share her Quirk.

"Well...I uh...I have a weather Quirk. So I guess I can create...rain, lightning, heat, and well I might not know what else I can do, but that's all I can do for now."

"That's so cool! You have to show us sometime!" Mina exclaimed excitedly, jumping around the room.

"Yeah! I would love to see it rain! Can you change the weather or do you get your own personal weather system?" Hagakure asked, leaning her invisible face in closer.

"I would also like to know about this weather Quirk." Momo added, finishing her hair up. "It sounds rather fascinating."

Machi glanced at Uraraka, who gave her a thumbs up in response.

The blunette couldn't help but feel a little...relieved. For the first time in awhile, someone was being nice to her. Even if she had messed up a little during the endurance test slightly. These girls actually wanted to get to know her.

"Well...I can't really control the weather. So yeah, I've got my own personal weather system. Sometimes it can be a blessing and a curse." she tried to joke, her fingers combing through her long slightly damp hair. "Also...uh...you guys can...call me Machi. It's my nickname."

"I like it! It's so cute!" Tohru cheered excitedly.

"Me too!" Mina grinned, punching her fist in the air.

"Machi sounds better." Jirou spoke up as she grabbed her backpack.

"Sounds fine with me." Momo concluded with a gentle smile.

"So why do you say that your Quirk is a curse?" Tohru asked, moving over to the bench to pull on her shoes. "I mean, the curse of mine is that I can't really turn my invisibility off. So I'm basically just invisible all the time."

Machi glanced down at her wringing hands. "Well...I uh...my emotions are what control my Quirk. And sometimes...it can overrun itself." Her eyes squeezed shut for a moment, bracing herself for the nasty comments to start flying.

"Well that has to suck." Jirou sighed. "Emotions are already hard enough to deal with. That's rough."

Machi opened her eyes to see their full attention on her. Except...their expressions weren't judgmental.

"Being a teenager has to be the roughest time. Emotions are all over the place. I can't imagine what you're going through." Momo explained, smoothing out her school necktie. "I suppose if you keep working at it, I'm sure you'll have better control by the time you're an adult."

Machi blinked in surprise at her words.

"Either way, that still sounds like a pretty awesome Quirk! I mean, look what you did with that ball earlier!" Mina squealed with excitement. "I can't wait to see more!"

They...they were happy about this?

"I'm so glad you're going to be in our class!" Mina continued before she moved forward to engulf Machi and Uraraka into a big hug, followed by Toru.

"Me too! This is going to be one amazing school year!"

Momo and Jirou smiled as well, nodding their heads in agreement.

For the first time in awhile, Machi actually felt...relaxed.

* * *

Once Machi was finished, she bid farewell to the other girls and made her way out of the locker room. She couldn't help but feel slightly happy. For once, she was meeting students who were nice to her. They were interested in getting to know here and didn't seem to judge the fact that she couldn't completely control her Quirk. In fact, they seemed to cheer her on.

Maybe...maybe this time would be different. Maybe UA was going to be a better school for her.

"Whoa...seems like there's a gorgeous babe with electrical powers at this school." a sly voice spoke behind her, making the blunette whirl around to see a blonde haired boy with a black stripe that seemed to stand out among the golden locks.

"Uhh...sorry?"

A confident smirk spread across his lips. "You know, you're a girl with a Quirk like mine and I've got the power to electrocute."

Blinking a few times, she shook her head. "Uh...well not completely. I mean my Quirk does more than just lightning and-"

"Yeah yeah, sure." he cut her off, moving closer. "Anyways, the name's Denki Kaminari."

Machi took a hesitant step back while he took another towards her, her cheeks flushing with a light pink tint. "Uh...hi..."

He slid closer, sidling up against her side. "I can see the sparks flying between us, Babe. So how about you and I meet up after class today and we-"

"Back off Pikachu. I saw her first." another cut Kaminari off as he pushed past the blonde's side. This student was much shorter. Much...much shorter. This student was about four feet tall and had several purple lumps on his head.

The kind of look he gave her, almost leering, sent an unpleasant feeling down his spine. "Well well well, another bodacious babe in my class. You're awfully shy but you're really cute. I'm sure you'd rather go on a date with someone who is a better hero than a guy who can charge cellphones." he laughed while Kaminiari glared heavily at him.

"Hey!" he argued with the short student. "That's not all I can do! Besides, what can you do, Grape Head?"

The shorter student glared back at him. "Uh...for your information, the name is Mineta Minoru, not Grape Head. And as for my Quirk, I can use my sticky balls to do just about anything I want." he informed Kaminari as he pulled a lump off his head and held it up. "These babies can stick to just about anything."

That made Kaminari burst out laughing. "That's it?! Talk about a lame Quirk!"

Mineta began seething as he pushed the sticky ball in his face. "I'll have you know that these are powerful! They don't stick to me so I can use them however I want!"

"Do they do anything else?" Kaminari asked, wiping away a tear from his laughter. "Doubt they'll be able to stand my electric shocks."

"Wanna bet, Lightning Boy?" Mineta challenged. "Wanna show off your little shocks of electricity?"

Kaminari held up his hand, a wide grin on his lips. "Oh...I can guarantee that they're not. Wanna find out?"

Mineta smirked back, holding up a sticky ball. "Bring it on, Pikachu."

But as Kaminari stepped forward to deliver the bolt of electricity he promised, he suddenly tripped on his laces and stumbled forward. Mineta could have had a chance to run, oh he could have tried. But...the second Kaminari fell, his electrified hand landed on top of the stick balls on Mineta's head. The purple haired boy let out a shriek as the hallway erupted in a bright light.

"Ahhhhhh! Get off of me! Get off of me!" he cried out, his little legs and arms flailing. As he was doing that, the ball he was holding latched onto Kaminari's shirt, holding them together. By doing that, Kaminari was now stuck to the boy.

"Hey! Get your stupid things off of me!" he yelled back, his electricity never stopping.

Machi stood there in shock as she watched the scene unfold. It was almost comedic, like something out of an old cartoon.

A laugh behind Machi caught her attention.

"Oh wow, never thought I'd ever see this one."

It was Jirou and Mina.

"Boy, this is going to be fun. Hope Mr. Aizawa doesn't show up to split this up just yet." Jirou commented as the stopped beside a very worried Machi.

"I...they..." Machi stuttered, her gaze shifting between the girls and the fighting boys. "Shouldn't someone stop them? I mean...electricity can be..."

"Dangerous? Oh yeah, it definitely is. But Mineta there can absorb some of the electricity. So it doesn't affect him that much." Jirou shrugged as if nothing bad was happening.

"Yeah, those sticky balls are almost like rubber. If they were completely rubber, then he wouldn't be affected at all." Mina giggled, brushing her pink hair back from her face. "But...since they're not...he's just going to be in a little bit of pain."

As the bright glare disappeared, the girls turned their attention to the boys to see that Kaminari was now slumped on top of Mineta.

"Hey! Pikachu! What are you doing? Get off of me!" Mineta screeched, feeling the weight of Kaminari causing him to collapse to his knees.

Kaminari however, lay where he was, his expression turned from panic to subdued. He began giggling while saliva began dribbling down the side of his mouth.

"Oh boy, looks like he went a little over the top with his Quirk." Jirou sighed, shaking her head.

"What do you mean?" Machi inquired, tugging on a strand of her hair.

"You see, when he uses his electricity volts too much, he suddenly can't use his Quirk anymore. Also, he becomes...well that." She pointed as the giggling blonde held up his free hand, giving them a thumbs up.

"He'll be fine in awhile. But serves him right." Mina laughed, brushing off her skirt.

"Suppose it does, since Quirks being used outside of class is prohibited." a tired and aggravated deep voice spoke from behind.

The girls tensed up and turned slowly to see their teacher standing there, hand on his hip while the other held a juice box. He still looked just as menacing as he did earlier.

"Oh...hey, Mr. Aizawa." Jirou greeted, rubbing her neck.

"L-lovely day, isn't it?" Mina sheepishly added, placing her hands behind her back, trying to look cute.

Machi could barely come up with a word as the events of today rushed back into her mind, making her body suddenly heat up in embarrassment.

Aizawa examined the three of them before his tired eyes shifted to Mineta, who was still yelling at Kaminari, who also was still laying on top of him like a dead fish. "Hey!" he barked, causing the two students to stop what they were doing and glance up. "You two, you're coming with me down to Principal Nezu's office to discuss your punishment. Quirks are prohibited to be used on school property other than class participation."

Mineta, who was nearly burned to a crisp, paled at the realization while Kaminari let out a low 'yay'. Slowly, the two made their way, well...Mineta had to drag Kaminari since they were still stuck together, down to the principal's office while being led by Aizawa.

When the three were gone, Jirou and Mina turned to Machi, grins on their faces.

"Well that was enough entertainment to keep me satisfied for awhile." Mina sighed, spinning around on her heel.

"Yeah." Jirou agreed, shoving her hands into the pockets of the short uniform skirt. "Seeing those two getting knocked down a peg seemed to satisfy me for a bit. Are you okay, Machi?"

Blinking in surprise, Machi rubbed her left forearm. "Oh yeah. I'm fine. Just wasn't expecting that."

"Just steer clear of them. Kaminari isn't too bad. Just a bit of a flirt. But Mineta..." her voice turned ominous. "Just stay away from that creep."

Mina shuddered. "Yeah, avoid him at all costs. He's just...creepy and a massive pervert."

"S-sure. I'll make sure to steer clear."

"Anyways, we've gotta get going. We'll see you in class tomorrow, Machi." Jirou bid farewell as she began walking down the hall.

Mina smiled before giving Machi another hug. "Yeah, see ya! Make sure to show off that awesome Quirk tomorrow too!"

The blunette stared in awe as she slowly waved at the girls as they left.

"Nice girls..." she mumbled, pulling her backpack over her shoulder and began walking down the hall. Well...at least she knew some of her new classmates now. Hopefully, things would get better from here.

"Excuse me!" a familiar voice called to her. "Machiko Imara! Wait up!"

Machi stopped and immediately frowned when she spied Iida rushing her way. "What do you want?" she bit out, not realizing how cold she was coming off.

Iida frowned as well and stopped a few feet from her. "I...I wanted a moment of your time, if you will."

The grip on her backpack tightened as she turned away. "I'm not sure I should do that right now. Besides, I have places to be."

Quickly, Iida rushed around her and blocked her way. "Please, I want to apologize for my behavior during the exam."

Narrowing her eyes, Machi placed her hands on her hips. "Oh really now? Funny way of showing it."

Iida let out a sigh before running a hand through his dark hair. "I...understand your frustration. I was rather...rude and..."

"And arrogant?"

"Well...I suppose so..."

Machi was never this upset with anyone. Heck, she could barely stand up against the students in her old classroom. Now, she was taking a stand and going up against those who bullied others.

Iida adjusted his glasses. "I just...I was wrong to attack Midoriya like that during the exam. I was...overstepping my boundaries. He was just...being...a friend. I just...I'm used to being well...the rule follower." She watched him bow down in front of her. "Please! I hope you accept my apology! I wish to be a better student and hopefully be your acquaintance eventually!"

Machi's eyes widened while she stood there, watching her classmate stand there...or well bowing in the middle of the hallway. Was this really happening? He was apologizing?

"Uhh...I uh..."

Iida suddenly stood back up, stiff as a board. "If you can't accept my apology now, then I hope to make up for my actions as the school year rolls on!"

Flabbergasted, her mouth gaped and random noises flowed passed her lips. Well...he was rather...enthused with his speech. The anger and tenseness in her body seemed to deflate, leaving her in shock.

"I swear I will prove that I am a worthy classmate and not some childish bully who preys on the weak!"

Holding up her hands defensively, Machi waved them back and forth. "Hey hey, it's okay. I...I'm sorry as well." she spoke softly. "I didn't mean to get so angry like I did. I just...I don't appreciate bullies. Especially those ones who hurt my friends."

Iida nodded firmly. "I have to agree with that. Please don't think of me as someone like them."

Stopping her shaking hands, she slowly lowered them.

"What I'm trying to say is...and before I embarrass myself any further, I hope that you and I can work towards becoming allies in the future. Heroes need them to succeed sometimes and from what I've seen what you can do with your Quirk, you would make an excellent adversary."

Machi couldn't really find the words to respond with. Iida was apologizing and complimenting her on her Quirk? Wow, maybe this school was much different from her middle school. Here, students were friendly and accepting with other newbies and people who were ill-mannered towards those who weren't like them, apologized for their actions. Well, with the exception of Bakugou.

What sort of dream was she in right now? Truly, none of this was real.

"Well? What do you say?" Iida questioned, leaning in further, making Machi back up slightly.

"Uh...well...I suppose...I can forgive this for now." she responded softly, making Iida's eyes light up.

"Really? Oh thank you, Machiko! I swear I won't let you down!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Thanks." she mumbled, leaning away slightly from the enthusiastic dark haired student.

"Oh hey Machi. Uh...Iida." Izuku's voice broke through the strange moment. His finger was covered in bandages, showing that Recovery Girl had fixed him up after breaking his finger during the endurance test.

"Ah! Midoriya. I was hoping to find you." Iida announced, turning towards him.

"Y-you were?" Izuku stuttered out, his body freezing on the spot.

"Yes, I wanted to apologize for my behavior at the exam. I hope you can accept my apology! I swear I will be a great ally in the future and I hope we can do well together!"

Just like Machi, Izuku gaped at him and slowly nodded. "Uh...it's okay. No worries here. Hope we do well in class."

"Thank you! Now I must be going!" he called before strutting down the hall. "I shall see you tomorrow!"

Izuku and Machi stood there, watching him walk away before they turned to one another.

"You okay Machi?" Izuku asked, catching up to her as Iida walked away.

"Oh...yeah. I-I guess so. Guess Iida wanted to apologize to both of us."

"Yeah, I guess so. But whatever the reason behind it, I'm glad he did. Maybe he wants to make amends. After all, he was probably stressed like the rest of us were. I won't hold it again him."

"Yeah, you're right." she sighed before stretching her arms above her head. "Man, that was a lot for today. Just as intense as your training regiment."

Izuku laughed softly, rubbing the back of his head. "True, but I'm sure we can get through Mr. Aizawa's class."

She gave him a gentle smile. "Yeah. Can't wait to see what the rest of the school year is like." Then she turned to the clock to see that it was about time to go home. "Hey, do you want to come back to my house for dinner? My treat?" Machi suggested as they made their way out of the school gates.

"Oh! Sure! I mean, are you sure your parents won't mind?"

"Of course not. They like hearing all my stories about you. And besides, you can finally meet my dad."

Izuku chuckled. "Well most of the time, we go to see your mom at the hospital. And I don't think I've actually been to your house before."

"Well...it's home, I guess." Machi giggled nervously as the two walked off into the dusky evening. "I hope you don't judge me later for it."

"You? I don't think I could ever think of you as anything different."

A bright smile appeared on Machi's lips and her eyes began to glow.

For once, it was a pretty good day.

* * *

**Thank you everyone for reading! This chapter took me awhile, but I had a lot of fun! Writing the Mineta and Denki scene was so much fun! I always enjoy watching those two getting into trouble haha Especially when they did the pool episode back in season 3. I also loved writing for the rest of Class 1A! It was definitely a change for me and I can't wait to write more interactions!**

**I hope to have the next chapter out soon! The next chapter will be a little bit of a look into Machi's backstory and life outside of UA. Someone suggested to me that I should do a little insight into who is the girl with the weather Quirk. I'm actually excited to write this portion. I hope you guys enjoyed this new chapter! Let me know what you guys think! Don't be afraid to leave a review for me! They always make my day and you guys have really been helping me write this story. Every review is a boost to my self esteem and I appreciate any comments, suggestions, and small criticisms that you leave. Thank you so much! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! New chapter has arrived. Honestly, this is the first story I've written where my OC's parents weren't jerks or had any negative thoughts. In fact, Machi's parents were a lot of fun to write. They remind me of my own goofy parents. Also I'm also excited to write more for Machi's sister, Tomi! She's a fun character to and and I can't wait to show more of her character too. Someone suggested that I should do a chapter about Machi to show who she is outside of the school, who her family is, and also what makes her...Machi. That's what this chapter is! And it's also long! **

**I just wanted to thank those of you who reached out to give me any advice or to let me know that I made a mistake. To whoever told me about the small detail I left out about Izuku meeting Machi's mom, thank you for catching that. I could've sworn I had it together, but I missed it. It has been edited and should make more sense now (hopefully). Anyways, if any of you guys notice anything, let me know! Send me a message or include it in your review if you want, I appreciate it.**

**To everyone who messaged me or left a review, added me to alerts or favorite lists, that you guys! You guys are the ones who always brighten my day when I post a new chapter! I hope you enjoy the new chapter! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own My Hero Academia. I only on my OC, Machiko/Machi.**

* * *

"Wow, so this is your where you live?" Izuku awed at the tall building before them. "It's so much bigger than my building."

Machi's eyebrows knit together as she glanced up at it too. "Eh, it's not too big. My parents just thought this would be a nice place to raise kids." Machi sighed as they began making their way inside. On the walk over, anxiety began to build inside of her. At first, the invitation sounded more exciting in her head. By now, she couldn't help but worry at the thought of Izuku seeing where she lived.

While Izuku lived in a small two bedroom apartment with his mother, Machi lived in a...rather different living space that was much bigger than his place. Her family wasn't like most of the people who lived there. Not snooty and selfish with their money. They just happened to have a large sum of money due to the Imara's job situation and used it wisely.

The last thing she didn't want to do today was have Izuku assume that she was some rich and selfish person like the rest of the building.

Once inside, Izuku marveled at the inside of the lobby at the pristine white and black checkerboard floors as well as the immaculate furniture. "This is much nicer than the apartment that Mom and I live in. When you said the Kemachi Homes, I uh...I didn't think you were talking about this building. I always passed this building whenever I was going to the store...I just didn't think you lived here."

Machi avoided his gaze as she pushed the button for the elevator. It was also kind of embarrassing for her because this was the first time she had anyone over. For so many years, she hoped to have at least one friend come over to visit. Now that the time had arrived, all she wanted to do was turn around and go back.

"Wow...this place is really nice." Izuku commented as they waited.

Machi shrugged as if it wasn't anything. "It's nice I suppose."

The doors finally opened, revealing a tiny elderly woman.

"Hello Miss Machi. Nice weather we're having today."

Well...maybe not everyone in this building was rude and selfish. Especially not the nice lady who lived down the hall and had ten cats.

"Hey Mrs. Kemach." Machi greeted as she and Izuku climbed on. "Yeah, it's very nice today."

She smiled at Machi and Izuku. "Why yes it is, I'm sure Mookie wanted to get out again. But he'll just have to stay inside and watch out the window. Nice to see you." Then she turned and hobbled away, waving at Izuku, who shy waved back.

The two climbed onto the elevator and Machi pushed a button, closing the doors.

He turned to stare at her expression. "Are you okay? You...seem a little distracted."

As the box descended, Machi wrung her hands together.

"I uh...I've never had anyone come here before. And well...I just didn't want you to think badly of me..."

Confusion swept over his face. "Why would you say that? You're my friend and I've never-"

"I know, I know. I just...I was worried you'd think that just because I live here...I would be selfish or arrogant."

The doors opened and they stepped out.

"Selfish and arrogant?"

"Well...because of where I live. Most people who live here are kind of...the rich type who only care about their money. My family isn't like that at all. We just live here because my parents make good money. I just didn't want you to assume that we were rude or something..."

His hand touched her shoulder. "I don't think that about you at all. You've got a kind heart and I've met your mom. I didn't get that impression at all." He gave her a gentle smile. "You're still my friend no matter what."

A weak smile appeared. "Thanks, Izuku. I appreciate hearing that." Then she glanced down at his bandaged finger. "Does it hurt?" she asked with a wince. She had seen what his Quirk could do to his limbs. Of course it wasn't as bad as breaking his legs and an arm.

Izuku glanced down and held up his injured hand, taking it off her shoulder. "Oh...well it doesn't anymore. It did when I threw the ball, but it'll heal. Recovery Girl helped me out." Then he grimaced. "And then scolded me of course."

"Well if you keep doing crazy stuff like that, of course she will. She's not a mobile hospital, Izuku." she teased, bumping his shoulder with her own.

Blushing, he ruffled his dark green hair. "Uh...yeah, I know I can't keep doing that. I just...I have to keep working at it so I won't have to break anything when I use my Quirk."

"You'll get there, Izuku. I know you will." she told him before walking down the hall.

Each door was spread out awfully far, making Izuku glance around at the charcoal carpet and light gray colored walls. This place was awfully fancy.

Eventually, they arrived at a door that had the charcoal black numbers 613 in the middle.

Machi reached for the doorknob and paused. "Uh...just to give you a warning."

"A warning?"

"Yeah...uh...my parents are great. No, they're really great. I just...they can be a little embarrassing."

Izuku gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure they're not that bad."

"Ohhh...you'll have to see to believe."

"Well if they're as nice as you." he told her with a bright grin. "They have to be great."

Shooting a half smile his way, she slowly opened the door.

Izuku took in his surroundings as he removed his shoes. The walls were painted green with a yellow wooden trim. The foyer led into a rather large living room filled with a few couches, chairs, coffee table, and a TV that was broadcasting the latest All Might story. It was bigger than his own apartment, but Izuku could feel the warmth in the room.

"Wow...this is...really nice."

Machi pulled off her shoes and threw her school bag onto the couch, shrugging. "Eh, it's home. Glad you think it's nice." she responded before calling out, "I'm home!"

There were a few noises from the kitchen, alerting the both of them.

"Hey Kiddo! Welcome home!" a male voice greeted from the other room.

Machi glanced over her shoulder to mouth the word 'Dad' before leading Izuku into the kitchen.

"Hey Dad, home already?" she asked as they rounded the corner to see a tall and slender man facing the fridge.

"Oh yeah, I took the afternoon off. Had some stuff to do here." the voice echoed from within.

Machi glanced at the cork board on the wall to see a few items were crossed off on 'Dad's To Do List'. Things like laundry, fix the sink in the bathroom, and put away the decorations. But things like 'buy a new couch' had a few question marks next to it.

"Do you need me to write and cross off...uh whatever you're doing?" she giggled, watching her dad furiously scrub a shelf in the fridge.

"Uhh...sure, Kiddo. Just say...attempt to clean the fridge." he responded before letting out a grunt. "This stain just isn't coming out!"

Machi glanced at Izuku, rubbing the back of her neck. "Uhh..."

"That's the last time we keep one of those health smoothies in the fridge! I don't care if your mom wants to try to branch out in her eating habits, I didn't enjoy whatever she served!" Then his voice lowered. "Don't uh...don't tell your mom I said that, okay?"

Izuku tightened his lips as a laugh nearly burst through while Machi covered her face with her hand in embarrassment.

"Uh...Dad, we uh...have company."

Her father jolted, hitting his head on the shelf above. "Ow! Lousy shelf!"

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly, standing beside him, prepared to get out the medical kit in the nearby cupboard.

"Yeah...I think so...man that hurt." he groaned, rubbing his slightly balding head.

Machi rubbed his shoulders. "I'm sorry. Maybe I should handle the rest of the cleaning."

Shaking his head, he patted her on the shoulder. "No no, your old man has got it. I'm a big strong man." he insisted before turning to Izuku, a big grin appearing on his lips. "Oh...so we do have company. "

He was a taller man, slightly fit figure and wore a worn out shirt and jeans. His face was smooth and had several creases in his cheeks from smiling. Grey hair lined the sides of his scalp and the top was nearly bald.

Placing his hands in front of him, Izuku grinned back. "H-hello Sir."

"Dad, this is my friend, Izuku."

Her father suddenly put on a serious expression as his eyes scanned over Izuku like he was a suspicious criminal. "So...you're the young man who has been spending all this time with my daughter."

This caused panic in Izuku as he flinched, his arms scrambling around as he tried to find words to respond with. "I-I uh...y-yes Sir! M-my name is Izuku Midoriya! I am Machi's friend and I-"

It only took a moment before Machi's father burst out laughing and leaned over as he kept going. "Stop...stop that, Izuku. It's okay! I'm just fooling around!"

He calmed down for a moment, lowering his arms. "Oh..."

Machi rolled her eyes and she playfully punched his arm. "Daaaad, come on. Leave him alone. You're going to scare him to the point where he wants nothing to do with me."

The older man rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Machi. I'm a dad, I'm supposed to interrogate the boys you bring home to meet your mother and I. Especially the ones that you have wrapped around your finger." he teased with a wink.

Both Machi and Izuku's faces turned bright red and their mouths gaped before words began sputtering out.

"Dad! We're not...no!"

"N-no Sir! It's n-nothing like...uh..."

Her dad snorted before patting Machi on the shoulder. "Come on, Kiddo. You know I have to do this. I mean, it's in the 'Dad Handbook'. Assume that every man in your life could be my future son-in-law." He shot another wink at Izuku, paled at his words.

"Daaaad..." The blunette covered her face, letting out a groan as her father walked around the kitchen to throw the dirty dish rag into the sink.

"Now then." he sighed before clearing his throat. "It's very nice to finally meet you, Izuku. I've heard all kinds of stories about you." He offered his hand to Izuku, who stood there in shock, glancing down at his hand.

"Oh uh...t-thanks Mr. Imara." Izuku responded as he shook his hand.

"Please, call me Ishii." When he released Izuku's hand, he looked at Machi. "So Machi, are you cooking tonight?"

Lifting her head, she glanced at Izuku before a bright smile appeared. "Of course."

Her father glanced between the teens and laughed. "Oh I get it, you brought him here to show off your amazing cooking skills."

Machi shrugged as pulled her long hair back into a ponytail. "Aw you knew my secret." she responded playfully before she went to wash her hands.

Izuku seemed confused for a moment before his eyes widened. "Wait...you're going to cook?"

When her hands were done, Machi grabbed a towel from the counter, turning to face Izuku. "Yeah, if that isn't a problem at all."

"Oh! Oh no, I don't mind at all! I just didn't know that you could cook...I mean...not that I can't."

She laughed as she moved to the fridge, pulling it open. "It's fine, I don't really like to brag about my hobbies." After collecting what she needed, she moved to the counter and dumped several kinds of vegetables, a few containers, and a carton of stock liquid. "I just like to cook in my spare time. Whenever I'm not panicking."

Izuku slowly moved up to the counter, watching as she pulled out a knife and a chopping board. "Uh...is there anything I can do to help?"

Pulling over some carrots and began cutting them into thin slices. "Oh sure, can you start up the rice cooker. There's rice in the cabinet above me. I'll tell you when to add the spices."

He followed her directions and soon, the two of them were prepping for dinner.

"What are we having tonight?" her father questioned, washing his hands to help.

Machi hummed in thought as she placed the carrots into a clean bowl. "Hmm...I was thinking about a rice bowl." she responded before shooting a smirk Izuku's way. "With pork."

That got his attention as a surprised grin appeared on his lips. "You mean like the one you made me?"

She nodded in response as she began working on the onions. "It's my dad's favorite."

"My daughter makes the best pork cutlet bowls!" her father called as he rummaged through the fridge for the pork chops that they had gotten from the local grocery store. "I'm glad an outsider enjoys my daughter's cooking. She'll make an excellent wife one day."

"Dad!" Machi hissed, carefully setting down the knife so she didn't cut herself when she turned. "Cut it out!"

He smirked in respond as he grabbed another knife to begin cutting the pork into cutlets while Izuku blushed and let out a sheepish laugh.

The front door burst open and a tall woman stumbled inside. She was wearing hospital attire and her dark blue hair was a mess despite being in a high ponytail.

"I'm home!" she called out as she walked into the kitchen and spotted Izuku. "Oh...I didn't know we were expecting company. Either that or my daughter suddenly decided to change her hair color and her appearance."

Machi rolled her eyes as she continued cutting. "Glad to see that you think I would go through such a process."

"Oh come on, Sweetie. You know I mean well." Sasuka chuckled as she took off her coat. "Hello Izuku. It's nice to see you again. And surprisingly outside of the hospital."

Izuku blushed as he sent a shy smile her way. "Oh, hi Mrs. Imara. Nice to see you too."

"I told you before, call me Sasuka." she playfully scolded as she slipped of her shoes and padded into the kitchen.

Ishii smiled as his wife came to his side and pecked her on the lips. "Hey stranger."

"Hey yourself." she responded with a smirk.

"Gross...can you two cut it out with the lovey dovey stuff while I have friends here." Machi moaned, shaking her head.

They both shared a look and chuckled.

"Aww come on, Machi. We're just expressing our love for one another." Sasuka teased, puffing out her lower lip.

"Yeah, besides, you'll be doing that with whoever you manage to snag." Her father added making Machi roll her eyes.

She lowered her head for a moment, groaning deeply. "I swear, if there's one more comment about me finding a husband or anything of the sort...I'm putting poison in the food." she muttered so quietly that only Izuku could hear.

He blinked a few times in surprise. She never said anything like that before around him!

"Uhh...y-you don't mean that do you?" he whispered, slight fear lacing his voice.

Rolling her eyes again, she shook her head slowly before giving him a half grin. "Well maybe not yours." she giggled with a wink.

He managed a smile as he caught onto her joke and continued preparing the rice.

* * *

About an hour later, the four of them were sitting at the dining table, Machi sitting beside her friend while her father remained across from her and her mother facing from Izuku. The food smelled amazing and Izuku did a pretty good job cooking the rice for the meal.

"Soooo...how did the first day of class go you two?" Sasuka asked with a smile as they ate.

"Oh well...it was pretty good." Izuku responded with a grin.

Machi lifted her shoulders. "Yeah, it was...okay."

Her parents narrowed their eyes.

"Okay, who got detention on the first day?" Sasuka asked, a stern look on her face.

The teens paled as they began protesting.

"N-no! None of us did!"

"Yeah, we didn't do anything!"

Ishii smirked as he munched on an onion. "Clearly, we can tell one of them did something."

"We didn't!" Machi squeaked. "At least...the two of us didn't. Someone else did."

"Who was that?" Izuku questioned, turning to her, his face in complete shock.

Pushing her lips, Machi tried to remember names and shuddered when she remembered them. "I think one of them was named Kaminari and this other short guy named Mineta. They got caught by Mr. Aizawa, trying to show off their Quirks at school and suddenly got into a rather...interesting predicament."

Izuku chuckled as he nibbled on a piece of pork. "Glad it wasn't you."

"Yeah, especially when my daughter is such a delinquent." her dad teased, earning a glare from Machi. "Always such a dangerous child."

"Gee, thanks Dad."

"You know I love you, Kiddo." He winked playfully.

Her parents chuckled before her mother noticed Izuku's finger bandage.

"Oh no, I know that sight. What did you end up doing this time?" she asked the green haired boy, pointing to his bandaged finger.

Izuku's eyes widened as he stared at his hand. "Oh! Uh...well...I uh...kind of-"

"Was it your Quirk again?" she laughed softly. "Recovery Girl mentioned that you two were spending time in the infirmary during the exam. Said you managed to shatter a few limbs."

Guilt covered his face. "Oh well...just my finger this time. I'm trying to learn how to control my Quirk."

"Well take it easy, you know both of us won't always be there to heal you."

"R-right."

There was silence for a few moments before Sasuka spoke up again.

"By the way, I ran into Mei today." She scooped up some rice in her chopsticks to eat.

Ishiii scrunched his face up in thought. "Mei? Mei who?"

"You know Mei." she insisted with a nod.

He turned, giving her a weird look. "Honey, I know about several different people with the name, Mei."

Sasuka rolled her eyes and let out a huff. "You know, my old coworker from the hospital. The one who retired last year."

Ishii set down his chopsticks and turned to his wife, letting out a sigh. "Why do you always assume that I know who you are talking about?"

"What do you mean?"

"You always just say a first name and assume that I know who you are talking about."

Scoffing at him, she stuffed a carrot between her teeth. "No I don't."

"Sasu, you know what I'm talking about."

"No, I don't believe that you do." he responded before glancing at his daughter. "Machi, she does this thing, doesn't she?"

Machi smirked and nodded, stirring her chopsticks around in the bowl. "He's right, you do that a lot. Sometimes you just come out and say a name, assuming that we know exactly who you are talking about. Most of the time, it's people that we don't even know."

Sasuka sent a heavy glare her way. "I don't do that all the time."

"Yeah, you do." Machi and her dad responded in unison.

Her mother then turned to Izuku. "Izuku, your mother doesn't do that, does she?"

Izuku stopped eating for a moment, trying to come up with an answer. "Uh...well...I don't..."

"Mom, don't ask him stuff like that. Izuku, you don't have to answer."

"Why not? I'm just seeing if he-"

"Mom, it's fine. We're just messing with you, even if what we said was true."

Puffing out her lip, she rested her elbow on the table. "I thought you had my back on these subjects."

Shaking her head again, Machi took a sip from her cup. "No, that's usually Tomi in this case."

"Yeah, after all, she's your favorite." Ishii commented under his breath, earning an annoyed look from his wife.

"I don't have a favorite." she protested, gently pushing on his arm.

"Oh yeah, you do. Tomi is more of the favorite than me." he playfully pouted.

"When did I ever say that?"

"Last night when I proved that I was the smarter adult in this house. After all, I know way much more random facts about space than you do."

"Oh so what? Look who has their medical degree and knows how to fix a broken bone than you do."

Ishii barked out a laugh. "Oh here we go again. Bragging about your degree. I went to Shiketsu High and I turned out pretty good."

Machi let out a short laugh while sharing an awkward look with Izuku. He just smiled and laughed as her parents continued to argue over who was the smartest and the favorite. Yep, just another normal night in the Imara household.

Once the 'argument' was over, Sasuka turned to Machi. "By the way, speaking of your sister, she sent me a text this afternoon." her mother brought up. "She said that you had to call her tonight or else she'd fly home and...well I don't condone violence in this house but...kick your butt."

Before Machi could retort, Izuku piped up.

"Wait, you have a sister?"

Turning to her friend, Machi's eyebrows knit together. "I didn't mention her before?"

"No, I don't think you did."

"Oh...well I guess you know now." she responded sheepishly with a shrug.

Sasuka smiled as she continued to eat. "Tomi is my oldest daughter. She's studying abroad in America right now. She's an intern and she's learning about becoming a hero over there."

"Yeah, she's going to show the world who the next All Might will be." Ishii added with determined look.

"Wow, that's pretty awesome." Izuku awed.

Machi's lips curved upward. "Yeah, she's pretty awesome."

"You should go give her a call right now." Sasuka suggested, glancing at the clock. "She'll be leaving for work soon. Introduce her to Izuku while you're at it."

Machi glanced down at her half eaten rice bowl. "But shouldn't I finish eating first? I mean, won't it get cold?"

Her mother waved her hand dismissively. "Oh don't worry about it. Besides, Tomi wants to talk to you. I'll just warm up your food."

The young girl turned to her friend. "What do you say? Can you step away from your pork bowl for a bit to go meet my sister?"

Izuku set down his chopsticks and smiled. "Uh...sure. Yeah, I'd like to meet her."

The teens slowly got up from the table and went to Machi's room.

"Tell her we say hi!" Ishii called, earning a wave from their daughter.

* * *

"So what is she like?" Izuku asked as he sat down on her bed, glancing around the room while she sat down at the computer desk and clicked on the pinging logo of a popular video chat app.

"Oh she's...something else. A bit sarcastic and loves to joke around. But I love her."

"How come you never mentioned her before?"

Machi shrugged as she typed a quick text to her sister. "I guess I forgot. I've been so focused over the last couple months I guess she slipped my mind." Then she shot a look at her friend. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

"It's okay. I'm just glad that I know now. What kind of hero is she? Is she in the Pro circuit?"

"Well...she's not technically a Pro yet. She graduated from UA a few years back and she took a few years off to figure out what she was going to do. She started her internship last year."

"Wow, that's pretty cool. How old is she?"

Tomi texted back that she was ready to talk to her sister. "Twenty-seven." Machi responded before she hit the call button on the app. "Alright, here we go. Don't be too intimidated by her. She means well."

The computer screen lit up and a young woman with a short blue pixie-cut appeared. Her long bangs were parted to one side, covering one eye. She wore a dark green tanktop and a pair of cargo shorts. A wide grin spread across her lips, matching Machi's own.

"Hey! I'm glad you finally got back to me. I was beginning to worry that you weren't going to talk to me again. Especially since you're making friends with the Pro Heroes out there." the woman teased, brushing back her long bangs.

Machi rolled her eyes, resting her elbows on the desk top. "Oh sure, I'm making best friends with everyone. Especially a certain secret Pro who happens to be my teacher."

The woman's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "A secret Pro? Who the heck did they get? I mean...there are a lot of secret Pros out there." Then she groaned. "Please don't tell me you guys got Hawks. Ugh...that guy is gorgeous but he's so full of himself. Guy wouldn't stop trying to ask me out when we went to school together."

"Shouldn't that be a good thing? I mean, being asked out by one of the best looking heroes out there." Machi questioned, glancing over her shoulder at Izuku, her cheeks flushing pink when she realized what she had just said. "I mean...he's not that good looking."

"Ugh yes...but at the same time he's got a side girlfriend and a side **_side_** girlfriend. No way was I going to be the_** side side side** _girlfriend. He's smart to have his own company and all, but seriously...the guy needs to narrow it down to one girl at a time." Her eyes narrowed. "You'd better stay away from him if you get into the Pro circuit."

Machi sighed exasperatedly. "Ugh...I'm not going to, don't worry about me. Guys aren't really part of my Hero agenda."

Izuku began to snicker, causing the woman on the screen to knit her eyebrows together. "Wait...is someone there with you?"

Machi blinked in surprise a few times before turning to her friend. "Oh uh...y-yeah. My friend came over for dinner."

"Well don't just sit there, get whoever she is into the picture! I never get to meet your friends. I mean...not that you really had any but..."

"Tomi!" Machi scolded her, her face turning red as steam began rolling off her cheeks.

"Right right! I'm sorry! You know me and my big mouth. But seriously, I want to see her!"

Covering her face, Machi turned to look at Izuku, who was leaning down to get into the frame of the camera.

"Uh...h-hi."

Tomi stared at the camera for a moment, extremely puzzled. "Uhhh...forgive me if my eyes are deceiving me, but I don't think that's a girl friend. I mean I'm sure he would make a very sweet girl and all but-"

"Uh...well...I uh..." Izuku stuttered, his own cheeks turning vibrant red.

"Tomi! Leave him alone!" Machi yelled back, a teasing smile appearing on her lips.

Tomi sat back in her seat, rolling her eyes. "You're right...you're right. I'm letting my big mouth do it again. I'm sorry uh...what's your name?"

Machi giggled before lowering her hand. "Oh uh, Tomi this is Izuku Midoriya. He's in my class at UA. And also he's-"

"Wait wait! This is Izuku!" she gasped, her hands shaking with excitement as she patted them on her legs.

Izuku blinked owlishly at the camera. "Uh...you know who I am?"

"Yeah, you know who he is?" Machi echoed in confusion.

"Well duh! Mom told me about how much time you've been spending with this boy and how you've been training every day before the exam. And besides, you were the one who told me about him first. How do you not remember this?"

It took Machi a moment to think and then she shook her head. "I guess I've been so busy lately, I forgot."

"Eh it's fine. I forgive you. It's a busy time being at UA. And from the way you did on your exam, you deserve every bit of praise there, Izuku. You helped my sister find herself and get into one of the greatest schools in the world! So for that, I have to thank you for this!" she told him with a wide grin.

"Oh uh...thanks." he told her with a shy grin.

She turned to her friend and motioned him to come closer to the desk. "As for introductions, Izuku, this is my older sister Tomiko. She's doing an internship over in America right now."

"Wow, that's pretty awesome. All Might got to do that when he was interning." he exclaimed in excitement.

Tomi smiled at him, folding her arms across her chest. "Actually, I'm at an agency down the road from the one All Might worked at."

"R-really?! Wow that's amazing!"

Machi's sister laughed at him. "Yeah, it's pretty exciting! It's a shame he doesn't really come to visit. I'd love to meet the big guy one day." Then she looked at her sister, placing her hands together under her chin. "So tell me when am I being invited to the wedding."

Both teens tared at her in shock, trying to wrap their heads around her words.

"I mean, you guys are spending a lot of time together. Am I seeing young love?" Tomi sang on the other side, making the teens whip their heads to stare at one another, the redness returning to their cheeks.

"What?!"

"No! Of course not!"

Tomi burst out laughing again, leaning back against her chair.

Machi rubbed her face in frustration as Izuku covered his own. "You're just as bad as Mom and Dad."

"Ugh! Please don't tell me that I'm like them. That makes me sound like I'm old."

"Well you're more like Mom than Dad." Machi added, dropping her hands into her lap. "And for your information, we're just friends."

"Riiiiight." she responded sarcastically as she grabbed a can of soda from off to the side. "But back to what we were saying, so who is this secret Pro at UA? I'm really curious who is putting up with you guys." Then she took a drink from the can.

"Oh, it's Eraserhead." Izuku responded, pulling up another chair. "I believe he said his name was Shouta Aizawa."

Suddenly, Tomi spit her drink out and coughed a few times. "What?! You've gotta be kidding me! Aizawa is teaching at UA?! That has to be a joke!"

"Wait, you know him? How do you know our teacher?" Izuku questioned, confusion marring his face along with Machi's.

"We went to UA together several years ago. He was a third year when I was a second year." she laughed as she tried to clean herself up. "The guy was such a downer at times. I swear, I tried everything to get him to crack a smile or laugh. Then again, Hizashi and Emi were also trying to see if he would. Is Present Mic or Miss Joke there? If they are, you have to tell them I said hi!"

Izuku's eyes widened. "You know them too?! What were they like?! Did Miss Joke ever use her Quirk on you?!"

Tomi shook her head, a laugh bursting through her lips. "Wow...talk about fan boy alert."

He stopped talking and glanced down, a blush creeping over his cheeks. "I-I'm sorry."

"Don't sweat it, Izuku. You're all good. I just didn't expect to be interviewed on my life at UA today." she laughed, ruffling her hair. "But I'm glad to hear that old Aizawa is doing good for himself there. Is he still a wet blanket? Grumpy?"

The teens shared a look before nodding.

"Looks like I should come see him some time. Maybe stir things up." Tomi announced, lacing her fingers together and stretching them out in front of her. "Wish I was back home with you, Sis."

"Yeah, I wish you were too." Machi sighed, leaning on the desk in front of her.

"But I'll come see you sometime." her sister assured. "And I'll finally get to see you in action out there. Oh and meet you too, Izuku."

"I would like that." he responded with a wide grin.

Tomi leaned back in her chair. "Anyways, we can talk later, Machi. I'll let you two continue on with your evening. Well...assuming it's nighttime there."

"Yeah, it is. But you have a great day at work. Kick some villain butt for me."

Tomi saluted her sister. "Will do. Love ya, Machi."

Machi smiled back. "Love ya too, Tomi."

Once they hung up, Machi turned in her chair to face her friend. "Well...I guess you know the other half of my crazy life." she laughed, rubbing the bottom of her chin. "She's just the more sarcastic version of myself."

"She seemed nice. Too bad she's not actually here."

"Yeah, but my sister knows what she's doing. I'm sure she'll make a name for herself out there in the world." Then her smile fell. "I'm sorry again for not telling you about her. I meant to, I just...forgot."

"It's fine, Machi. I'm sure I would find out about her one day." He glanced around at her room, staring at the various hero posters, bookshelves full of action figures, and knickknacks. "Your room is pretty cool."

"You think so? Mom says calls it my 'Nerd Cave' and tells people I would never leave if I had the option to stay here."

He chuckled as he spun the chair around to look at her. "I could see the potential. By the way, I never got to thank you for inviting me over tonight. Your family is really nice."

Machi reached up to pull her hair tie out, letting her dark blue locks swish around her face. "Are you sure they didn't scare you too much? Especially with their...jokes."

"Well...they were a little...over the top. But they're great. Maybe my mom and I should come by to have dinner."

"Yeah, I would like that. Hopefully my parents will be on their best behavior." Then she stood to her feet. "Come on, we've got our own dinner to finish up."

He hesitated for a moment, remaining in his chair.

"Is something wrong? Don't tell me that my parents managed to scare you." she laughed before her expression turned serious. "You're not, are you?"

"Oh, no no. Nothing like that. I just uh..."

Machi slowly sat back down in her chair. "Is everything okay? Is the meal bad? I mean I know my dad burned a few of the pork slices..."

"No! Definitely not that! The food is delicious! You are a great cook, Machi." Placing his hands together to rub them, he sighed. "I just...I like this right now."

"Like what? My room? I mean, it's got some All Might-esc stuff in here. But I'm afraid it's not as elaborate as yours."

Lifting his head, he chuckled. "True. But...it's yours."

Machi tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What? I...I'm not sure what you're talking about."

His green eyes glanced around the room, taking in everything. "It's...you. Everything. Your room, parents, sister, your hobbies...this whole apartment. It's you, Machi." Sighing again, he continued. "I know we've only been friends for a few months and all, but the more we spend time together, I learn more about you. And today...I feel like a whole different side of you has been exposed. I'm seeing who you are outside of the training and school."

She felt her heart skip a beat.

Lips spread into a grin as he squeezed his hands. "I feel like I'm meeting a whole different Machi. You're so relaxed here with your family. You're joking with them, talking about your lives even if you're not really telling me, and you're showing off how good you are in the kitchen." A light chuckle bubbled in his chest. "I really like this."

A grin split across her face as tears welled up, but she blinked them away to prevent a rain cloud from appearing. "Izuku..."

Then he began to panic. "Oh! I'm sorry! Please don't cry Machi!"

"It's fine, Izuku." she giggled, wiping away one tear that threatened to roll down her cheek. "I just...I can't believe you just said that. It was really sweet."

That seemed to calm him down as he glanced down at his feet. "Oh...well...I'm uh...I'm glad."

Once the feeling settled, she gestured to the door. "Well...now that I'm done feeling...like that, what do you say about going back to the dining room to finish eating. Then we can play that new hero game they just put out."

Izuku slowly got to his feet. "You have that game?"

"Yeah, of course! My dad and I love playing then when he's got the night off. Trust me, the second he has his hands on the controller, he's a force to be reckoned with." she laughed as they both walked back out into the living room.

"Well...I guess he'll be a pretty big challenge for us." he chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Well...I'm not sure if he'll be anything like Mr. Aizawa."

She laughed along with them as they went back to finish their evening with her family. A very long evening with the continuation of the 'who is the smartest adult' argument.

"Ha! Guess who knows more about space, Sasuka? That's right! The smartest adult in this house! Come on Izuku! Let me tell you all about the Big Dipper!"

"Daaaaad!"

* * *

**Thank you everyone for reading! I appreciate the nice comments and suggestions you've given me. I'm working on the next chapter and I will tell you know, I will be skipping a few events. I won't be able to cover every single fight or moment in the show. Especially with what I want to do with Machi and Izuku's story. So the next chapter, there will be a change! **

**I hope you all enjoyed the new chapter and I can't wait to write what happens next! Don't be shy to message me if you have questions or need to give a suggestion or two. Also let me know what you think in a review! It always makes me day to hear from you guys! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! Hope things are going good for you guys! This virus thing is insane, I won't lie. Scary. But...fear not, for I am here! (yes I meant to do that!) Indeed, I'm here with a new chapter to make you all feel much better! Since being on lock down since around...the 16th of March, I've been finding more time to write outside of working from home. **

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed, added me to their alerts and favorite lists, and of course messaged me! You guys have no idea how happy you guys make me when I see my alerts going off. Especially in this depressing time, it makes me a little happier than I am. So I wanted to say thank you :)**

**IMPORTANT! Okay, since a lot of people are doing questions online, let me pose a question to you guys out there! Let's make this fun! If you were on lock down in the My Hero universe, who would you like to be locked in with (can be more than one person)? And what would you do? If it were me, I would want to be with Kirishima, Bakugou, and Present Mic! We would play video games all day long and watch Present Mic attempt to sing karaoke! Oh and it would drive Bakugou insane haha! Your turn! **

**Enjoy the latest chapter! It was a little hard to write since I'm not used to doing battle scenes. There might be direct lines from the anime, just to letting you know. Now let's get creative with those lock down ideas! lol **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own My Hero Academia. I only on my OC, Machiko/Machi.**

* * *

Fear. Nothing but the feeling of fear slid down her spine while every hair stood on end. A lump rose in Machi's throat as she stared into Izuku's frightened eyes. She wanted to scream. Tell him to run. Escape this horrible situation. Help the students escape.

However, the hand that was currently wrapped around her neck was preventing her from speaking. Let alone, breathing.

"Hmm...a very stupid little hero, aren't you?" a raspy voice spoke, sending shivers down Machi's spine. "Trying to save the day and showing off? That sort of thing really pisses me off."

Machi was too scared to glance back at her captor. The image of him was now burned into her mind and would probably remain there for a long time. Why did she have to be so careless? Why?!

* * *

**~ 2 Days Ago ~**

Machi stood outside in the training field, taking a few deep breaths. "Come on...you can do it. Just a small one." she mumbled softly, clenching her hands a few times before lifting them up. "Just keep it under control."

This was test number seven...no eight. Or maybe twelve. Regardless, Machi was practicing her aim once again on the school grounds. Over the last week, Machi was trying her best to show off her Quirk. That is...without messing up.

The other day, pressure got to her and instead of shooting off a lightning bolt, she ended up making it rain a little when her anxiety got out of control. Shockingly, not that many of her classmates laughed or made fun of her. Some of them thought it was pretty awesome that she was able to create a storm cloud.

But either way, she had to find a way to use the right type of weather. Of course she had been able to use her lightning during the exam and the endurance test, but now it was time to use it freely without worry. Once she got this down, she would excel in her classes!

Holding her hand out, she attempted to focus a bolt into the palm of her hand. "That's right...just aim and let off one bolt." she whispered softly as she tried to focus her stress and anger. _'Think about the other day when Bakugou called you a loser. How he tried to humiliate you in class. Come on...'_

"You know if you keep doing that, you're going to strike lightning on the school." a tired and grumpy voice spoke from the other side of the field, making her jolt.

Thankfully, nothing shot out of her hand when she turned around to find her teacher standing a few feet behind her, his arms folded across his chest.

"Oh...Mr. Aizawa...I didn't know you were...there..." Internally, she was beginning to panic.

He was the last person she wanted to see right now. Things were still tense between them because of what happened on the first day of class. Always giving her serious looks, almost judging her for how she acted or who she was? What was going on in that man's head?

And above all that...how the heck did her sister ever put up with him? _Seriously, they were friends at one time?!_

Shaking his head, her teacher moved closer to Machi, keeping his bloodshot eyes on hers. "What were you doing out here? You know you can't be using your Quirks on school property unless you're in a class."

Machi avoided his eyes, rubbing her hands together. "I...I'm sorry. I just wanted to practice alone..."

A heavy sigh escaped his lips while Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I just wanted to practice my Quirk where nobody could watch. I just...I'm still getting nervous to use it in front of the rest of the class." she tried to tell him. Of course she sounded like she was full of excuses, but that was the point of why she was so scared. Also, why was she admitting this to him?! Aizawa didn't care! Heck, he almost tried to expel one of her classmates on the first day!

Lowering his hand, he frowned. "You know, you're going to have to use it to stay in this school. I could fail you alone for not using it during class. You need to get over your stage fright."

She frowned, turning away from him. "I know...I know." Her arms folded across her chest, hugging herself tightly. "I just...I'm scared of hurting someone if I lose control."

There was a silence between them. A long arduous silence that hung in the air.

He sighed again. "Look...I get that you're nervous. Your Quirk can be dangerous, just like many other young teens and children like yourself. But you can't let fear and anxiety control you."

Before she could mummer another 'I know', her teacher cut her off again as he moved in front of her gaze.

"Remember what I said the other day. Do you remember?" he asked sternly, his hands shoved into his pockets.

Staring down at her shoes, Machi slowly nodded. "Don't hesitate."

"Right. You continue to hesitate and that's what's slowing you down. I understand you don't want to hurt anyone. That's normal." he explained, glancing up at the building behind him. "But like I said, if you hesitate...it could end a fight in the worst way. You can't allow that to happen."

Bowing her head, she sighed heavily. "You're right." Then she lifted her gaze to his bloodshot one. "But how do I learn to control it?"

He stared down at her for a little bit, studying the young student. "You know...someone once told me that you can't let your Quirk control you. If you let it control you, you'll never succeed in life. It'll bring you down and probably end up being your demise."

Blinking in surprise, Machi tilted her head to the side. "Then...what do you do?"

His head tipped back, staring up at the bright blue sky above. "Embrace it."

"Embrace it? But how..."

Meeting her gaze again, the side of his lips twitched, almost going into a smile. However, it didn't happen.

"You have to figure out a way to embrace your Quirk. Embrace the problems, fears, and conflicts. Try and find a way to make it better. Own your Quirk."

She still wasn't completely sure what he was talking about, but for some reason...she wanted to take it to heart and listen to his advice.

Slowly, he moved around her and stood by her side. "Try it again."

Confused, she turned her head to stare at her teacher with wide eyes. "What?"

He stood there casually, hands still in pockets. "Go on, try and hit that cement block over there. Cementoss can make more later for us."

Machi's lips parted softly as she realized what he said. Was he...trying to help her?

"What are you just standing there for? You're getting my help for ten minutes." His eyes narrowed. "Don't make me regret wasting my time."

Snapping back to face the blocks, she tried to get herself back on track. She would question his kindness later. Right now, she was getting help from someone other than Izuku. And a Pro, no doubt! She would definitely not waste his time.

Holding up her hands again, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _'Focus.'_ Then she felt a bolt beginning to build in her palm. Taking the chance, she fired it at the block. However, the bolt veered off and electrocuted the ground, creating a large circle of black dirt.

Machi frowned at this and covered her face in embarrassment. "Crap! I-I'm so sorry, Mr. Aizawa! I didn't mean to-"

"Try it again."

Lowering her hands, she stole a glance at her teacher, who never moved from his position. "What?"

"I said, try it again."

Facing forward, she recreated the bolt in her hand and fired once more. This time, it hit the ground on the opposite side of the block.

"Again."

For the next hour, even if he offered ten minutes, Aizwawa stood at Machi's side, telling her to repeat her actions over and over again. It was much longer than ten minutes. By now, most of the ground was burned, a few bushes received a shock, and she even managed to hit the side of a tree. It was a shock nothing started a fire.

Her palms were aching by now. This was the most shots she had taken in awhile. What was her teacher trying to do for her?

"Mr. Aizawa...I think we should stop for now." she tried to tell him, feeling her body beginning to ache.

"You're going to keep going until you hit the block." he responded sternly. "Hit it again."

"But-"

"Now."

Feeling slightly scared by his tone, Machi turned back to face the battlefield she created. There were no marks even close to the block! What was she doing wrong?!

Holding her hand up, she fired another bolt. This time, it veered completely off the path and hit a tree that was clear over by building B.

Turning back, she held up her hands and felt anger and frustration beginning to build up inside. "Okay, I think we're done."

"I say when we're done. Now go again."

Machi clenched her hands tightly. "I want to stop."

"Hit it again."

Biting her lip she shook her head repeatedly.

"You want to be a hero right? Then hit it again."

"No!"

"Hit it again!"

"No!" she shouted back.

"Do it!"

Suddenly she turned and with all her might, she fired a bolt. This time, it hit the block, causing it to burst into a dozen pieces.

She did it.

As the smoke began to clear, Machi panted as the anger disappeared. When she turned to see her teacher, all she could see was his back as he walked away.

"Hey! What are you-"

"I've got places to be."

"But what about my Quirk?" she yelled as she tried to follow him.

"Keep practicing."

"But..."

He stopped walking and glanced over his shoulder. "Confidence."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Machi stared at the man. "Huh?"

"It's all about confidence. You lack it every single time you're faced with a challenge." he spoke slowly. "You fear your Quirk. That means you're letting it control you. You can't let that happen. Until when it comes down to the moment when it's needed, you actually use it."

"But that doesn't make sense..."

Aizawa sighed heavily. "Before you're about to face that challenge, anxiety gets to you. You think you're going to fail or hurt someone. But when the moment finally comes and you're pressured by an outside source, it drives you to prove that source wrong. Hence, on the first day, when I pressured you, you delivered. It takes time to perfect it, but you'll get there if you keep practicing on working through that anxiety. Got it?"

Machi took a moment to think over his words. It somewhat made sense.

When she glanced back up at him, she could see that he was already making his way back to the school.

What a strange guy.

* * *

**~ Present Day- 3 Hours Before~**

"Hey Machi, your outfit is really cute. Ribbit." croaked Asuyi, leaning over her seat on the bus to speak to the blunette.

Machi glanced down at her hero costume before a slight blush crept onto her cheeks. "Oh uh...thanks."

While everyone else went with normal costumes that had a lot of bells and whistles, Machi designed her a bit differently.

It was a dark blue knee-length dress that reminded someone of a 60's GoGo dress. There was a light blue stripe that curved around the collar and then went straight down between her breasts. A white belt wound around her waist with a circular clasp with a lightning bolt and a cloud insignia shone brightly. Her knee high boots were sleak and the zippers were tiny umbrellas. She also had white arm bands that matched that went to her elbows and tights underneath the skirt. And to top it all off, she had a small light blue strip of fabric over her eyes.

The umbrella zippers were Tomi's idea. Said they would be the cute detail to see whenever Machi had her own action figure.

"Yeah! It's really sweet! You look so cu-" Kirishima complimented excitedly. When everyone stared at him, he blushed and quickly rubbed the back of his head. "Uh...I mean, it definitely suits you."

Machi's blush darkened and grinned back. "Thanks Kirishima."

At the back of the bus, she could hear Bakugou growling. "Grrrrr...stupid girl..."

She winced slightly at his anger, but relaxed when everyone started talking about their costumes.

Today, Mr. Aizawa told the class that they were going on a mini field trip. He didn't really say where, just that they were going to work on rescue missions. Also, he never spoke to her about their weird training day, but she knew he was watching whenever she was practicing in class or during mini drills.

"You know, there's something I wanna say that's been on my mind lately..." Tsu spoke up before glancing at Izuku. "About you actually, Midoria."

A slight blush appeared on Izuku's cheeks. "About me?! What is it Asui?"

"I told you to call me Tsu."

Blinking in surprise, he glanced away, slightly embarrassed that he called her the wrong name. "Oh...yeah right."

"That power of yours...isn't it a lot like All Might?"

Izuku's body turned ridged. "What?! Really? You think so, huh? I never really thought about that." he babbled before turning his head towards the front of the bus. "I guess it's kind of similar."

Machi tilted her head to the side. Was his power like All Might's? Of course, he had super strength like All Might did, but there was no way he had the exact power. Izuku didn't really go into much detail about his Quirk. Just that he had super strength and he had to be careful with using it or else he'd shatter his entire body.

"Wait, hold on Tsu." Kirishima piped up. "You're forgetting All Might doesn't hurt himself. That makes a huge difference."

Izuku then let out a sigh, almost as if he was relived to hear Kirishima correct Tsu.

Kirishima shot a grin at everyone on the bus. "Still, I bet it's cool to have a simple augmenting type of Quirk. You could do a lot of flashy stuff with it." Lifting his arm up, it suddenly turned into a sharp spear, making everyone gasp and awe at his power. "My hardening's super strong and can destroy bad guys in a fight, but it doesn't look all that impressive."

The green haired teen's eyes lit up. "Oh no way, I think it's really awesome looking. You're definitely Pro material with a Quirk like that."

Machi smiled as well, feeling excited to see another classmate's Quirk. "Yeah, you'd be a very awesome hero. Practically a moving spike!"

Kirishima locked eyes with Machi and grinned a slight blush creeping over his cheeks. "You guys really think so? Seems like it would be easier to be a popular hero if I had something flashier."

Ayoma, who was sitting next to Machi, had his head perched between her hands, sighing dreamily. "My naval lazer has got the perfect combination of panache and strength."

Mina, who sat on the other side, smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "But it's way lame if it gives you a stomach ache, Sweetie."

As soon as she said this, Ayoma's face fell a little.

"I still think it's rather cool." Machi tried, causing Ayoma's face to light up again, his eyes twinkling with determination. He was always a little over the top with his excitement, but at least he got along with her.

"Magnifique! I have a fan after all!" he declared, making Mina sigh but laugh at his excitement before turning to Machi.

"Your Quirk is also pretty awesome as well, Machi."

Machi blushed before glancing down at her hands. "It's not that awesome."

Kirishima grinned a toothy grin. "Are you kidding me? If I had a Quirk like yours, I'd be zipping all over the place making it rain!" he laughed loudly, making everyone turn to stare at him. Realizing how loud he was, he quickly turned away, rubbing the back of his head. "I-I mean...I guess..." Then he turned to the back of the bus and cleared his throat. "W-well if any of our classmates have Pro Quirks, it's Todoroki and Bakugou."

Todoroki didn't seem interest in their conversation as he stared out the window, distracted by something else. That guy was always so...odd. Of course his Quirk was amazing and blew away the competition in the class, but still. He wasn't...overly social.

Bakugou sneered at the class as they stared at him before turning his attention back outside.

"Sure, but Bakugou's always angry, so he'll never be that popular." Tsu piped up, making everyone stare at her in shock.

Did she have a death wish?! Was she insane?!

The spiky blonde shot up from his seat again, holding onto the bar in front of him in a tight grip. "What did you say?! I'll kick your ass!"

Tsu didn't seem to be phased as she went on. "See?"

While Bakugou growled in his throat, Kaminari piped up from the other side of the bus.

"You know we basically just met you. So it's kinda telling that we all know your personality is flaming crap mixed with garbage."

Steam practically was rolling off of the angered blonde as he turned his attention to the electric wielding teen.

It seemed like everyone was out to infuriate this guy today.

_'Seriously, are we going to have a death in this class?'_ Machi asked herself.

"You're gonna regret the day you applied to his school you loser! I'll kill you!"

As the two began arguing, Machi glanced across the bus to see that Izuku was leaning down, his face between his hands.

"Izuku...are you okay?"

He didn't move as he began mumbling stuff under his breath. Something about how Kachan was getting teased instead of him.

"Izuku?"

Suddenly his head shot up, eyes wide with shock. "What?!"

Machi stared at him with worry. "Are you okay?"

"O-oh...yeah. I just..." he glanced at the back of the bus where Kaminari was busy egging on Bakugou while he threatened his life. "This is kind of...a surprise. Kaachan is the one usually teases me. And now...the whole class is teasing him. It's just weird."

Machi giggled as she watched Bakugou stand up and shake his fist over poor Jirou's head. "Yeah, this school is definitely...weird."

He smiled back before chuckling. At least they were mutual on the subject.

Momo groaned at the back of the bus, covering her mouth in annoyance. "This is such a disgusting conversation."

"Yeah, but it's kind of fun listening to them fight." Ururaka laughed, looking rather entertained by Bakugou and Kaminari's fight.

"Hey hey, we're here. Stop messing around." Aizawa yelled above the students, calming down the fight as they sunk back into their seats.

"Yes Sir."

Machi glanced out the window to see the bus pulling up to a huge building with a dome. Where were they going?

As the bus came to a stop, the students began unloading.

But as Machi made her way to the door, her teacher stopped her. "I expect you to be confident. Control your Quirk."

Nervously, she nodded. "O-okay."

He frowned, making her wince. Then she nodded and stood up straight. "Yes Sir."

Her teacher nodded before allowing her to join the rest of her class for a day full of training.

* * *

Machi panted heavily as she held onto the railing of the shipwrecked boat. Her long dark hair was dripping wet along with the rest of her costume. Her heart was pounding rapidly as she tried to catch her breath.

Next to her, Izuku was resting his back against the ship wall, checking his body for any injuries. Thankfully he didn't have any, but he definitely looked shaken up. Then again, wasn't everyone right now?

On her other side, Tsu was trying to wake up a very dazed Mineta, who was drooling and groaning in pain. They were both completely drenched like she was and didn't have any injuries either. Tsu had mentioned to them that Mineta had passed out when they landed in the water.

"Is...everyone okay?" Machi panted, checking on her fellow classmates.

"Yeah, I think so." Izuku responded as he got to his feet.

Tsu nodded as she continued to try to wake Mineta. "Yeah, he's still breathing. Ribbit."

Within the last hour, Machi and the rest of her class never saw what was coming once they came to the training center. No idea about the horrors they would face when they arrived at the USJ. No clue as to why...why was this happening.

When they arrived at USJ with Aizawa, and met the Space Hero, Thirteen, the students were ready for their rescue training session.

However, before things could even get started, a large...no...a massive black and purple cloud appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Within moments, there were at least fifty or more people standing there. But it only took a moment for Mr. Aizawa and Thirteen to realize that those beings were really villains.

Everything seemed to move so quick in that moment.

Mr. Aizawa literally jumped into action, attacking with several strikes from both his Quirk and his scarf. Meanwhile, as the class attempted to escape, the dark cloud materialized before them, blocking their way out. Bakugou and Kirishima went to attack, but failed when they barely put a scratch on the warping villain. Before anyone else could act, the villain phased over the students and suddenly everything went black.

Suddenly Machi found herself submerged in cold water and then she broke through the surface. For a few moments, Machi panicked when she realized that she was stuck in the shipwreck zone with more than a dozen villains surrounding her. But then she was thankfully saved by Tsu, who had both Izuku and Mineta with her.

By now, the four of them were aboard the mini ship in the water. Drenched and separated from the rest of the class.

Mineta woke up suddenly, gasping for air as his little head turned back and forth. "Where are we?! What are we doing here?! Where are the bad guys?!"

"Easy there, Mineta. We're okay." Izuku tried to calm the smaller hero. "We're in the shipwreck zone. We're safe."

"For now. Ribbet." Tsu croaked when she glanced over the side of the boat and everyone paled.

Everyone gasped when they spied over a dozen villains swimming towards the ship.

Tsu and Izuku were trying to stay calm in this situation, while Mineta was screaming and whining about fighting. As for Machi, she felt her knees buckle from under her and now was shaking. She sat on the floor and tried to do her breathing exercises.

It was taking everything in her soul to not act like Mineta. Her nerves were about at the edge of losing control and the anxiety over what might happen was beginning to weigh on her mind. If she lost that, then she could put everyone in danger. What if her lightning went off? What if she started crying and the rain cloud would appear? What if-

Machi squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to concentrate. _'Focus...you need to focus. Don't freak out. Don't freak out.'_

A damp hand touched her bare arm, making her eyes shoot open. Izuku sat in front of her, worry etched across his face. "Machi...are you okay?"

She blinked a few times before slowly nodding. "I...I think so. I'm just trying to remain calm right now." Then she glanced out to the water, seeing the villains grow closer. Her eyes met Izuku's, hers were filled with fear. "Izuku...what are we going to do?"

"I don't know, but we'll figure out something." he told her softly before turning to Tsu and Mineta.

As the three of them began talking about a plan, Machi closed her eyes once more and tried to take deep breaths.

Why was she panicking like this? Yeah, she was afraid of losing control, but now they had villains to worry about! How was she going to get herself out of this mess?

_'Calm down. You have to calm down.'_ she told herself sternly.

Something touched her hand, making Machi open her eyes again.

Tsu's frog-like face was in front of her. "Are you okay, Machi? You're shaking."

Machi big her lower lip and nodded. "Y-yeah. I'm okay."

She frowned, moving closer. "Machi, it's okay to admit that you're scared. We all are." Her slimy hand gripped hers. "But we need to figure out a way to get out of here and call for help. Can you help us?'

The blunette sat there for a moment. She couldn't just sit there and let the villains get them, that would solve absolutely nothing! After a few seconds passed, she slowly nodded. "Y-yeah, give me a second. I just don't want my emotions...losing control."

Tsu gave her a half smile before returning to check on Mineta. Leave it to Tsu to be the level headed one here.

Izuku moved back over to his friend and sighed. "Machi, can you use your Quirk at all?"

Holding up her hands, Machi stared at them and could see that they were shaking. "I...I'm not sure at the moment. I'm trying to calm down, I really am...I just..." she paused before bowing her head. "I just don't know if my aim will work."

A crease appeared on his brow. "If you can't use it-"

"Yeah, I can use it." she interrupted, turning her head towards him. "But I can't guarantee it'll work right. I'll give it a try though." Slowly, she stood up and walked over to the rest of her classmates.

"So what's the plan?"

Tsu took a quick glance over the side of the ship. "Well...Midoriya mentioned that the villains might not know what Quirks we possess. Because if they knew what my Quirk was, they would've thrown me into the fire area and not the water. Ribbit."

"Yeah, so they just wanted to split us up and take us out in smaller groups." Izuku cut in.

Mineta paced back and forth beside them as Tsu continued on.

"But...this whole plan, even if they didn't know our Quirks, this seems a bit more elaborate."

"How so?" Machi questioned, squeezing the water out of her hair.

"Well...think about it, if the villains spent so much time planning this attack, then they probably figured out a way to kill All Might."

That made Izuku turn pale and Machi's stomach drop.

She was right, the villains were really after All Might.

"And didn't you hear what the smoke guy said, maybe we should worry more about not getting tortured to death. Otherwise, we might not survive long enough to see All Might again. And even if he didn't show up who knows if you'll make it out in one piece." Tsu croaked with a sick look on her face.

Mineta stopped pacing and pointed at her, eyes wide with horror. "No! The Pros are gonna save us, right?! Tell Frog Boobs to shut up!"

But instead of getting mad at Mineta for the insult, Tsu turned to the edge of the ship, seeing several villains make their way to the ship. "Ribbet...we've got company."

Just the sight was enough to send Mineta into freak out mode. "Waaaaah! Bad guys!"

Machi whipped her head around to her friends. "What are we going to do?"

Izuku clenched his fists. "If they can beat him, then we have to stop whatever it is these bad guys are planning. We have to work together and keep All Might safe. No one at UA knows what's happening. This is up to us. Let's be heroes."

There was a long pause before Mineta began screaming again.

"Whadaya mean fight?! Are you crazy?! These guys are here to kill All Might and you think we can take them?! Did you hit your head when we warped here?! The best plan for us is to just wait for a real Pro to come and save us!"

But Izuku and Tsu kept talking about a plan while the shorter hero whined and began pacing frantically.

After a few moments of discussion, the teens all explained their Quirks. Of course they knew Izuku and Machi's powers, but neither of them knew about the others. Turns out that Tsu was just like a frog and had several parts to her Quirk. As for Mineta, he had sticky balls that grew on his head and whenever he took them off, they would stick to anything else, but not himself. Interesting.

But just when they were abut to come up with a true plan, one of the villains used their Quirk to smash the boat right down the middle.

As the boat began to shake and sin, Mineta screamed and proceeded to throw his sticky balls into the water.

When Izuku tried to stop him, suddenly he noticed that the villains seemed to fear them and tried to swim away.

"They're afraid?" Machi asked before turning to the others.

"Yeah, she's right." Izuku spoke before turning to the others. "Great job, Mineta."

But he was too busy screaming to even hear. But Tsu asked him if he was sure he wanted to be a hero, that's when he began screaming random things. Machi wished that she didn't hear how he wanted to touch Yaoyorozu's chest. Gross.

Suddenly Izuku moved to the end of the ship, clenching his fists. "Listen up." he interrupted Mineta's screaming. "An enemy that's certain of their victor is bound to make a mistake. All Might said something along those lines in an TV interview awhile back."

"What does that mean?" Mineta snapped, tears streaming down his face.

He went silent when Izuku's fists were shaking. "Now's our chance. We can beat them." When Izuku turned around to stare at his classmates, Machi felt a shiver run through her when she saw his eyes. Seriousness and determination.

Turning back, Izuku climbed onto the edge of the ship and jumped off, screaming loudly. Using his his finger, he was able to create a super blast that shot into the water and created a whirlpool that sucked in the villains.

As the ship was beginning to sink further, Tsu grabbed both Mineta and Machi before leaping into the air. Using her tongue, she managed to snag Izuku. The four of them fell back into the water, but it was far away from the ship wreck and the villains.

Once the ship began to sink, Tsu grabbed all of them and frog leaped away until they crashed into the water once again.

As they began making their way to the shore, Machi sighed. Guilt filled her chest as realization hit her. During the fight on the ship, she just stood there and watched. She never used her Quirk to help them. Was she that pathetic?

Noticing this, Tsu patted Machi on the shoulder. "Don't be upset, Machi. t's okay."

Machi frowned. "But I didn't help..."

"That's okay. Save your Quirk. Who knows if we'll need it when we finally make it to the door."

Izuku hissed suddenly, stopping right where he was.

"Are you okay, Midoriya?" Tsu asked glancing over at the green haired teen who yelped.

When the blunette moved closer to her friend, she gasped in shock. "Izuku, your fingers..." Machi began, staring at his now broken thumb and middle finger.

Moaning in pain, he held his hand close to his chest. "It's okay. I'm fine. Don't worry about me." he winced as he pulled his glove back on his injured hand.

"Well don't do it again on that hand. You need to keep your strength if we're going to get out of here. And if we make it out, you know my mom is going to give you a stern talking to." Machi tried to joke even if the situation was still dire.

"Right. Don't want that." Izuku managed a half smile before turning towards the others. "We should make getting help our top priority."

The blunette nodded. "He's right. We still don't know if anyone was able to make it out of here or not. Plus, our classmates could be anywhere around here fighting back."

Mineta sunk further into the water until the lower half of his face was covered up. "Not good..."

"If we follow the shore to the exit, then we can avoid the central plaza entirely." Izuku suggested, pointing in the direction where the main door was.

Tsu nodded, her ponytail bobbing. "Good idea, that way we don't run into the villains Mr. Aizawa's facing off with there."

A loud yell echoed from the plaza, making the teens turn to see several clouds of dust being picked up. Groans and grunts followed, making Izuku frown and fold his arms across his chest.

"If he doesn't get some back up, then he's just going to overexert himself. He'll end up defeated by those villains cause he was trying to keep us safe."

"Wait, don't tell us you're suggesting..." Mineta rose from the water, staring angrily at Izuku. "Are you trying to get us killed or something?"

"I'm not saying that we should jump into the middle of battle. But...maybe we can find a way to to take a few of those guys out and lighten his load."

Machi shared a concerning glance with Tsu and Mineta before turning back to her friend. "But...Izuku...don't you think that's still a huge risk?"

He frowned at the three of them. "Of course I know it's a risk but..." His eyes shifted to the fight that was going on. "Mr. Aizawa's Quirk. It's not suited for a group that big. He'll get hurt all by himself. And if Thirteen is still protecting everyone at the front...well they're going to need backup."

The blunette could see the worry in his eyes. She knew that look. And the from the looks of it, he wasn't backing down. He would go along if he had to.

Biting her lip, she glanced at Tsu. "He's right. We need to help."

Mineta huffed. "Great...she's just as crazy as he was. And I thought she was the hot and sensible one here."

Tsu smacked him over the back of the head and rolled her big eyes.

Izuku and Machi locked eyes.

"I'm coming with you, Izuku. This may be a crazy idea, but I'm right with you."

He managed a smile before glancing at Tsu and Mineta. "What about you guys?"

It took a few moments before Tsu spoke up. "Okay, I'm coming too. But we'll need to be extremely careful, got it?"

He nodded in response "Yeah."

Then all eyes went to Mineta.

His eyes widened and sweat began to mix with the water dripping down his face. "Wh-what are you all looking at me for?! You don't expect me to go in there and risk my life again, do you?!" They continued to stare, making him feel even more uncomfortable. "Awww come on guys! Don't give me that look!"

"You don't have to come, Mineta." Izuku assured him.

"Yeah, you can go all by yourself." she croaked before leaning over to Machi. "Though, I wouldn't mind if he left."

Machi suppressed a smile at her words.

Mineta's face turned white. "B-by myself?" Then his gaze shifted to all of us. "Aw why do you have to do this to me?! Why did I decide to become a hero?! Okay fine! Fine! I'll come too!"

Izuku faced us all, his lip formed into a thin line. "Then let's get going."

"Remember Midoriya, we're just here to see how things are going, alright?" Mineta harshly reminded him with a worried look.

"Ribbit, yeah."

"Yeah, I know, we'll get out of here the second it seems dangerous." he assured as the four of them began making their way to the plaza. Who knows what was going to happen next?

* * *

**That's it for now. The chapter would have been longer, but I was almost at 8,000 words and it would've been more by the time I was done. So I had to split up chapters. I hated to cut it off before things got interesting, but I promise I'll try to have the next chapter out soon! **

**Thank you everyone for reading the latest chapter! I hope you're all doing okay out there. Things are bleak right now, but we'll make it through. Thank you for reading!**

**Also, don't forget to answer the question! Let's have some fun here! See ya next time! **


	9. Chapter 9

**HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY FOR THIS STORY! **

**Hey everyone! I have returned! Things are still crazy, probably more than what we expected. But never fear, I am here to provide you with some happy vibes! Things are going well over here, I'm writing like oneshots like crazy, I've met some amazing people on Tiktok and Discord who are also writers, and of course...back to work and surviving out there. I hope you're all doing well! **

**IMPORTANT: So mini update, during quarantine, I recently discovered TikTok and maaaan...it's addicting! Anyways, by looking through so many videos, I discovered...Villain Deku. And...holy crap! That AU has become my addiction and I can't get enough of it! Sooooo because of this, I'm currently writing a Villain Deku fanfic! It's dark and creepy, with a hint of a heavy tension filled relationship! However, it may be posted on AO3 for certain reasons (mainly cause it'll get bloody and a little...steamy), but maybe I'll post a tamer version on here if you guys would like it! Oh and I'm also doing Haikyuu stories on there for anyone who is a fan! **

**IMPORTANT 2: Oh, and I discovered Yagami Yato...and my world has changed...well for the better I hope? She's helped me find a spark for writing other things and I've been posting new ideas like crazy. However, since they are mostly Reader Insert or a little more mature...they will be on AO3 along with my Villain Deku story! I hope you go check them out! **

**Anyways, I hope you're all doing well. Thank you for your review, adds, and of course messages to me! I appreciate them all! Also, it's nice to chat! Thank you! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own My Hero Academia. I only on my OC, Machiko/Machi.**

* * *

_"You...you stupid...grrrr!" Machi growled as she fired a bolt at the pile of wood that lay on the beach. It missed, naturally. Letting out another frustrated yell, Machi kicked at the sand. "Why won't you work?!"_

_Ever since her teacher cornered her yesterday at the school, she had spent her entire day off training at the beach. At least she didn't have him staring over her shoulder and she had plenty of free space on the beach. That meant, she could fire bolts of lightning at something without worrying about hurting anyone._

_But at this point...she was beginning to sound like Bakugou. Angry at every single thing. Maybe she had seen him way too many times yelling at people in their class. _

_"Uhh...Machi?" Izuku spoke hesitantly, making her whirl around._

_"Whoa!" she gasped, holding up her hands, that were glowing with lightning. _

_Izuku backed up, his eyes wide with shock. "Ahh! Machi! What are you..." _

_She quickly lowered her hands, trying to calm the lightning. "I..." Frustrated and slightly scared, she began shaking her hands frantically, attempting to get rid of what was beginning to take over. _

_"Be careful!" Izuku squeaked, shielding his face. "Remember your breathing methods!" _

_When the lightning wouldn't go away, Machi stopped moving and closed her eyes. Slowly, she began inhaling until her lungs filled and then exhaled it out. Eventually, she calmed and the lightning began to disappear. _

_Izuku breathed a sigh of relief, lowering his arms. "That was a close one."_

_"Sorry..." she mumbled, rubbing her arms. "I just...I've been practicing..."_

_He could see the various burned sand marks surrounding them. "Uh...yeah I can see that." _

_Machi let out a heavy sigh as she ran her hands through her hair. "I just...I don't know what to do."_

_She sat down in the sand and placed her chin on her raised knees. If she kept up things like this, she would tire herself out. Her palms were aching from the bolts of lightning that she used._

_Izuku sat beside her on the beach. "What's got you so eager to train today? Is everything okay?" _

_Bowing her head, she shook it gently. "No. Not really." she mumbled before continuing. "I just...I don't know why I can't control this right..." Misery and despair filled her soul when her thoughts drifted back to yesterday. "Mr. Aizawa ran into me yesterday and watched me train."_

_"Ah! Mr. Aizawa? Really?" Izuku squeaked. _

_"Yeah, I was kind of surprised that he was there. He stayed by my side and told me to keep firing bolts at something until I hit a target. Naturally, I kept missing..." she grumbled, pressing her face against her arm._

_"Did you ever get it?" he asked softly. _

_"Ugh...yeah. I did. But not until he practically forced me to hit it." _

_"Then what happened?" _

_"Well...he said something about having more confidence." she responded, lifting her head. "Apparently I lack it. He thinks that might be part of the reason why I can't."_

_Izuku frowned as he moved closer. "Confidence?" _

_She frowned as she faced the ocean. "I just...I don't know what I'm doing wrong." Letting out a loud growl, Machi kicked the sand while Izuku jumped back. "I just...I don't understand why I can't do this!" Tears began gathering in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away before she groaned when rain began dripping on her head._

_"Hey...it's okay." Izuku tried, moving closer, each step more hesitant than the last._

_"No its not!" Machi cried out, rubbing her eyes. "I'm going to get kicked out of UA because I can't control my Quirk."_

_Something touched her shoulder and she felt something squeeze it. Glancing up, she saw Izuku holding onto her shoulder. _

_"It's going to be okay."_

_"How?"_

_"W-well...I think I might have a solution to this." he said, sitting down beside her. _

_"A solution? What?" Machi coughed, brushing the sand off her pants. _

_He reached into his backpack and pulled out his Quirk notebook and a book about clouds. What was that for? _

_"Come here, I think I found something." he told you, flipping through the various pages of the book. _

_Leaning over closer, she noticed that he turned to a chapter about lightning. What was he..._

_"You see, I did a bit of reading about lightening. You see I found out that there are two different types of lightning. Negative and positive."_

_"Okay..."_

_"I found out that positive lightning is much more powerful than negative lightning. According to some of the websites I looked on, they said that positive lightning is the kind that causes fires and knocks out power." _

_"Yeah?" _

_He flipped another page and showed a picture of a stick figure with the word 'scared' above it. "So...whenever you're feeling upset, scared, or anxious...what happens?" _

_Pursing her lips, Machi tried to think. "Uh...sometimes I can't get my powers to work and when I shoot bolts of lightning, I miss my targets." _

_Then he flipped another page with a different stick figure with the word 'empowered'. "_

_"Well...what if your emotions are based on the different types of lightning? Like...if you're feeling down or anxious, that's negative lightning. And if you're feeling...empowered, driven, or confident...that's positive lightning."_

_Machi's mouth dropped as the gears in her brain began to turn. Was...was Izuku onto something?_

_"Wait...are you saying...that I'm using negative lightning."_

_"I have a feeling you might be." Izuku spoke slowly, flipping through pages. "Maybe Mr. Aizawa was onto something. Maybe he's right about the confidence part. See, you get worked up when everyone focuses on you or you start to doubt yourself. But maybe...if you try to think positive about how you're going to use your Quirk...it'll make a difference."_

_The young girl sat there completely stunned at what he had said. _

_"You...you did all this research for me?" _

_His cheeks flushed pink. "Oh uh...y-yeah. I guess I did." _

_Without saying another word, Machi quickly got to her feet and stepped closer to the pile of wood. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and held her hands up. _

_'Focus...you can do it. Just think positive. Just think you're going to hit it this time. Focus.'_

_When the sparks began firing up, suddenly they shot out and missed the pile completely. _

_Completely frustrated, Machi sunk down into the sand and sobbing again. Rain started dripping down her skin and that only made her cry harder. _

_"Why am I such a screw up?" _

_"Hey hey...it's okay..." Izuku spoke softly, his hand touching your shoulder. "You'll get it eventually."_

_As she continued to weep, Izuku sat beside her as the rain continued to fall._

_She'd get there one day._

* * *

Machi and her classmates waded through the water until they reached the plaza. The water was a little warmer now than when they landed in there. Maybe a dress as a hero costume wasn't the smartest. As they moved closer, the sounds of screaming and groaning began getting louder.

"What's going to happen when we get there?" Machi asked Izuku as he led the four of them towards the main plaza. "I mean...if you say we're going to help..."

"You'd better not make us fight again, Midoriya." Mineta hissed from behind them before cowering into the water. "I don't think my heart can take it..."

Tsu rolled her eyes.

"I...I'm not sure." Izuku mumbled softly. "But we're not going to fight back. Stay low guys..."

You all nodded and sunk further into the water before moving closer to the plaza. When you reached the end, that's when you could see the fight up close.

"There he is." Izuku spoke softly as they neared the edge of the water.

The four teens then sunk down in the water just enough so nobody could see them watch. There were only a few villains still standing besides their teacher. Most were laying on the ground and a few others were fighting Eraserhead. Meanwhile, the blue haired villain with hands grabbing onto his arms and face stood idly beside the massive giant with a bird-like face.

Who were these guys?

They watched in silence as Mr. Aizawa fight off the villains. Whether it was erasing their Quirk so he could get a punch in or using his scarf like a whip, wrapping it around their bodies before flinging them into the air like a ball.

Machi couldn't believe how powerful her teacher was. For someone as grumpy and sleepy as he was in class, she never expected him to be anything like this. In this form, he was much livelier and agile. Nothing like the man who was always curled up in a sleeping bag.

_'Wow...he's amazing.'_ she awed softly to herself. **_'Still can't believe he was friends with my sister back when they went to UA together.'_**

Suddenly the blue haired villain rushed Aizawa, his arms ready to fight. Aizawa used his scarf to wrap around the villain as they rushed at one another. Using his elbow, Aizawa plowed it into the villain's stomach as hard as he could.

Machi and her classmates awed at the punch, but suddenly their expressions turned to shock as they realized that the villain now had a hold of Aizawa's elbow and was holding it in a tight grip.

"What is he..." Machi began before letting out a gasp when she saw the fabric on his arm beginning to disintegrate. Then...his skin did, leaving behind pure muscle.

She felt her stomach churn and bile rising up in her throat when she realized what was happening. _'Did he...did he just peel away at his skin?!'_

Aizawa let out a yell before punching him away. More villains surrounded him, trying to get a punch in. Their teacher held his injured arm as he turned his head, looking for an opening. Using his scarf and legs, he was able to take a few more down.

As he turned to face the leader, the two spoke a few words that couldn't be heard by the teens.

Out of the corner of her eye, Machi could see the humongous muscled villain with the exposed brain creeping up behind their teacher.

She opened her mouth to shout a warning, but it was too late.

Before he could even react, the villain used its' hand to punch Aizawa so hard that it sent his yellow goggles spinning into the air, along with a large amount of blood. Then it began punching him over and over, making all of the young students cringe.

"Mr. Aizawa..." Izuku whimpered.

The students' eyes widened in horror and whimpered as they watched the massively muscled creature pin Aizawa to the ground and grab his right arm, twisting it behind his back. With a sickening loud snap, his arm was broken.

Machi felt herself nearly throw up at the sight.

When he lifted his head to erase the behemoth's Quirk, the creature's hand came down, snapping his other arm.

All four teens whimpered as they watched the creature grab their teacher's head and repeatedly smash it into the ground. Blood was everywhere.

"This is...horrible..." Machi whispered shakily.

"No...no...I can't watch it anymore." Mineta chimed in, sinking further into the water.

Machi turned her head for a moment, only to see Izuku shaking uncontrollably. He was scared. She had never seen him look so...frightened. Of course, she had seen him nervous and slightly panicked when they were training.

But this...this was an awful sight.

Turning her head to Tsu and Mineta, the two of them were just as terrified as Izuku.

Another loud band echoed through the dome, followed by a loud yell from Aizawa.

Clenching her fists, Machi grit her teeth._ 'I can't watch this! If nobody does anything now, Mr. Aizawa is going to die!' _she mentally scolded before her eyes began searching for something to do.

_**'Never hesitate when the occasion calls for it!'**_ Aizawa's voice rang through her head, reminding her of his lesson on the first day of class. _**'If you hesitate, that means that you're putting someone else's life in danger.'**_

Machi felt something running through her veins as she slowly moved to the edge of the lake, placing her hands on the edge. _**'Hesitating means that you're not willing to put any effort into saving someone or defeating a villain.'**_

She had to do something! Anything!

"Machi? What are you..." Izuku began before Mineta gasped.

"Hey! Imaru! What are you doing?!" he hissed frantically.

_**'Hesitating means that you're not confident enough to fight back.'**_

Gripping onto the edge, Machi felt her body nearly surge with energy._** 'I have to fight back. No more hesitating.'**_

Without a word to her friends, she pushed herself onto dry land before letting the feeling of anger rush through her body. Her hair rose up in the air as lightning began surrounding her body, just like it did during the exam.

The muscled creature barely glanced up before Machi rushed at it, a bolt of lightning in her hand as she threw it. But as she did, the creature moved a hand up to block its' face. However, the bolt missed and zapped the ground behind the creature, making it fall forward slightly, his grip on Aizawa slacking.

Machi let out a yell as she fired another one at the other side of the monster, making it flinch to the other side. She darted around it, making sure that her teacher was out of the way so she could make a grab for him.

But as she tried to move closer, the dark cloud appeared again, engulfing Machi completely.

"Machi!" Izuku cried out as the cloud warping villain disappeared again.

Her body felt weightless as it floating in the portal for a few moments. All she could see was darkness ahead, nothingness.

Seconds later, a bright opening appeared and gravity took hold of her body. She fell to the ground, flat on her face. Wincing in pain, she lowly lifting her head. She was back where she was before, except she wasn't really sure what had happened.

"Well well...what have we here?" a voice rasped.

Machi felt her heart dropped immediately when she saw a pair of red shoes next to her. As her gaze slowly moved up, she saw the cloaked figure standing above her.

"A little showoff?" he rasped, reaching down to grab Machi by the back of her uniform.

Her body felt limp as it was pulled up from the ground. When her lungs opened to take a breath, she let out a sudden gasp when she felt his hand around her throat and something pushed against her back while she faced the the water. Izuku and the others stared in horror.

"A stupid little bratty hero." the leader let out a chuckle as he stared at her through the fingers of the hand that sat on his face.

A chill ran down her spine when she saw red irises staring down at her. Her heart sunk deep into her stomach at this point.

She screwed up...big time.

"Don't you touch her!" a familiar voice shouted.

The leader glanced behind Machi and quickly turned her body around so she was facing the lake. The hand tightened around her neck.

Her eyes widened when she saw Izuku standing at the edge of the lake, fists clenched in rage.

"L-let her go!" Izuku yelled at him.

The captor's hand tightened around her neck again. "Ah ah ah, I wouldn't do that. If all my fingers touch her skin..." he began, waving his pinky finger around. "Her throat will disintegrate before she even has a chance to scream."

Her stomach dropped and bile built up in her stomach. Was he going to kill her?! Was she going to die?!

"Shigaraki, you can't be serious." the deeper toned villain spoke, moving beside them. He was a taller figure in a suit, but his physical body was a dark purplish cloud. "This wasn't part of the plan. Actually killing children."

The blue haired villain, now known as Shigaraki, gave an exasperated sigh. "Well it wouldn't have gone this far if somebody would've shown up on time. And if that's the only way to bring All Might here, then I suppose we'll start with this one."

"Sir, you can't be-"

"Shut it, Kurogiri!" Shigaraki snapped at the other villain. "I'm in charge here and I say what happens."

While the villains argued, Machi felt her heart beating awfully fast as she stared at her friend. If Izuku tried to save her, she would die. And if she tried to do anything, she would die. Aizawa Sensei was out of commission and bleeding while a massive dark creature continued to beat him up. The other students were off fighting for their lives against the other hundreds of villains that invaded USJ.

**_'What am I going to do?'_**

"Before we leave, let's make sure the Symbol of Peace is broken." he growled as he brought his pinky to her neck. "Let's wreck his pride. Let's make this hurt!"

Machi felt her body seize up as his final finger made contact with her neck. Letting out a loud squeak, her eyes squeezed shut as she braced herself for the end.

A moment passed. Then another.

Was it done? Was she dead?

"Tch..." the villain scoffed for a moment. "You really are so cool, Eraserhead."

Cautiously, Machi cracked open an eye. Before her was the exact scene she saw before she closed her eyes. However, one thing changed.

On the ground was her teacher. His hair was up in the air and his eyes were glowing red.

"You erased my Quirk..." Shigaraki groaned, squeezing his hand around Machi's neck tightly. "But just because you did that, doesn't mean I'm letting her go so easily."

Machi reached up, clawing at his arm to release her, her nails digging into the fabric of his shirt.

When her eyes rolled up, she saw Izuku flying towards them, fist clenched and glowing. "Let her goooooo!"

Shigaraki flinched for a moment, releasing one finger from her neck.

When Aizawa was grabbed by the head and slammed onto the ground, the leader regained his Quirk. However, from the way that Izuku was coming at him, Shigaraki released Machi's neck, allowing her to escape. But as she did so, she felt him grab her hair with all of his fingers.

Screaming in pain as her long hair was pulled, she quickly used her foot to kick back until she felt something solid. The villain let out a grunt of pain before she was released again and collapsed at his feet.

Her hair felt lighter than it normally was and she gasped as she saw short strands dangling in front of her face. _'Did he cut my hair off?'_

"Detroit Smash!" Izuku shouted as he landed the punch.

Massive air waves rippled through the arena. Water was being pushed back from the intensity.

And there was Izuku, standing proudly as the smoke cleared.

When the gusts of wind died down, Izuku glanced down to see that Machi was face down on the ground and out of Shigaraki's grasp.

She took a moment to lift her head and lock eyes with her friend. Izuku gave her a half smile when he realized that she was safe, but that didn't last long when the smoke cleared.

Looking down at his arm, Izuku realized that his arm was still intact. In font of his fist, stood the massive creature.

Horror washed over his face when he realized that his punch was useless.

"You're pretty powerful. This smash of yours, are you one of All Might's disciples. Doesn't matter. I'm done with you now."

In a cycle of movements, everything was moving so fast. The creature had Izuku's arm in his grip, his other hand lifting up to make a final strike. Using her tongue, Tsu lashed out, trying to grab Izuku. Shigaraki was aiming to grab Machi and Tsu at the same time. Mineta was screaming in panic as he watched this.

Suddenly an explosion from the other side of the dome made everything freeze.

As the dust picked up, everyone turned to the doors of the dome and saw a hulking figure slowly appear.

All Might.

Relief bloomed in Machi's chest when she realized that things were finally ending.

With a few threatening words to the villains, All Might got to work. After taking out a few smaller villains, he flew over, snatching up Machi and her classmates, getting them to safety. Then he rushed over to pick up their fallen teacher and handed his limp body to them.

"Everyone, head to the entrance! Take Aizawa with you!" he commanded the students.

"All Might...you can't. That brain villain took One-For..." Clearing his throat, Izuku went on. "I smashed him and I didn't break my arm this time. But he wasn't phased at all. He's too strong.

"Young Midoriya." The hero cut him off before turning to give them a great big smile and shot a peace sign their way. "I've got this!"

They stared at the hero before Izuku nodded to him and placed Aizawa over his shoulder. Machi took the other shoulder while Tsu and Mineta took his feet.

All Might then turned to the villain and their fight began.

As the four students and their teacher made their way back to the doors, Izuku was fairly quiet while Tsu and Mineta talked about the fight that was happening.

Machi turned her head to her friend. "Izuku...I..." she began, frowning as he stared forward. "Thank you for saving me back there. I'm sorry I did that...I just didn't know what to do. I couldn't watch that thing hurt Mr. Aizawa. I just..."

"You don't have to apologize for anything, Machi." he spoke softly, finally turning his head. "You did what you had to do."

"But why do I feel so guilty? I put you in danger back there...after we said we wouldn't do anything."

"Don't feel guilty, Machi. Ribbit." Tsu commented from behind. "What you did back there was pretty amazing."

Mineta grunted as he lifted Aizawa's leg up higher on his tiny shoulder. "Yeah, even if you almost got killed back there-ow!" He yelped when Tsu elbowed him.

"You saved Mr. Aizawa back there. Things could have gotten worse if you didn't step in." Tsu added while Mineta grumbled. "I'm sure he'll thank you later when he wakes up."

It made Machi feel a little better, but still she couldn't stop feeling so bad about the situation.

A huge explosion shook the whole area, causing the young heroes to look back. Dust clouds covered the main plaza where they just were and in the distance, they could see All Might fighting that Nomu creature.

"Are you guys seeing this?" Mineta squeaked. "That huge explosion! Wow! All Might's on a whole different level!"

"And he still needs to look at his notes when he's teaching." Tsu added with a chuckle.

"Yeah you get that bad guy! Kick him in the balls!"

Machi rolled her eyes before she heard a groan.

"Imara..." a weak voice gasped, catching Machi's attention.

Glancing down, she saw her teacher barely crack an eye open. "Mr. Aizawa...hang on. We're almost there."

Blood was streaming down his face from his nose and his eyes.

"W-why...why did you..." he whispered. "You nearly...got yourself killed..."

Gritting her teeth, Machi tried to ignore the guilt beginning to build in her chest.

"I know...I'm sorry Sir. I just...you...well you told us that we couldn't hesitate. It would destroy things." She voice broke off. "I...I couldn't let him hurt you anymore. You would've been killed."

"It...it's fine..." he grunted, trying to lift his head. "You...you did good..."

She should have smiled at the comment, but the pressure of the situation stopped her. Hearing a compliment like this from Aizawa of everyone at UA had to be the greatest sentiment in the last few months, besides Izuku of course.

"Well...I tried to listen to your advice. I tried to stay confident." she tried to tell him, balancing him on her shoulder. "I mean, I probably didn't execute it in the best way, but you know...I got that thing to stop."

"Nearly got killed..." Mineta commented before Tsu used her tongue to smack him again.

Aizawa winced, squeezing his eyes shut. "You...you still did good out there. Work on it a little more and...ngh..."

"I get it. Just...don't talk anymore, Sir."

She could take the advice later on.

"You know...you remind me a lot...of your sister."

Machi's eyes widened in shock as she looked over at her teacher.

He managed a smirk. "She's strong willed and stubborn...you're not exactly...like her...but you remind me of her will to save someone...even if it means risking her life. Heh...she was always that way through high school. Bet...she's like that still..."

As she slowly took in his words, she shrugged. "Oh yeah, she's probably just the same as you remember her."

He gave her one last smile before his eyes closed again and he slowly drifted off.

'Huh, an unexpected compliment.' Machi thought to herself as she glanced over at Izuku.

He seemed deep in thought, eyes shifting back to All Might. Was he worried about him?

Izuku stopped immediately. When she looked back to the battle, she gasped.

The Nomu and All Might had each other in a death grip while hovering over a portal. No, not they weren't. Their top half was inside of one part of the portal and the lower halves were in another. What was happening?!

Izuku whimpered when he heard All Might scream.

"I have to go back."

They all turned to their classmate in shock.

"What?! Are you crazy?!" Mineta shouted, nearly dropping Aizawa's leg. "You wanna go back in there after we just escaped death?!"

"I can't just leave him to die!" Izuku yelled before holding their teacher up. "Tsu, can you carry back Mr. Aizawa?"

Tsu gently lowered their teacher's leg to the ground before moving around to take Aizawa's shoulder. "Uh...sure..."

"Izuku...you can't." Machi began. "You'll die if you go back! You heard All Might."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." He shot a quick smile her her way before he turned and began running back.

"Izuku!" Machi screamed as he rushed at the battle.

As he neared, All Might was being dragged down further into the portal.

She could hear Izuku let out a yell as he jumped into the fight.

The anxiety built up inside of her as she watched.

"Take Aizawa back. I'm going to help him." Machi told them before taking off running without another word, rushing down the path after her friend.

"What is with all of you people running into death?!" Mineta screeched loudly.

* * *

**Thank you everyone! I'm sorry it took so long to get this written and I'm sorry it wasn't very long. Fight scenes aren't my forte and I kept getting distracted with other fanfics and Yagami Yato. I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner! Don't forget to check out my other work on Ao3! Hope to see you there! I'll still work on this site too, I just won't post anything too heated on here lol. Thanks guys! ^_^**


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